i  ! 


li 


! 


II 


ill 


•huh 

1 


1 
II 


li 
IP 


mm 
IP 

]'  1 


it  HI 


I 

! 


S  ii 


jlijl'Sljl 
1 


Mi 


11 


IS 


11111 

mi  i  i  i 1  \  i  \  l 


I  r 


I  ; 
ill 

I 

ill 


ii 

■ill 


I : 

hi  I'm  : 
i  ll: 


'J]IuiliilH.l.(!iiU: 


11111 


5 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

/,    Theological  Seminary, 

PRINCETON,  N.  J. 

Case,  Di-v-i-sion 

Shelf,  

.    Book,  ;  ,  Kr_...  

BX  7617    .P74  P74  1852 
Price,  Eli  K.  1797-1884. 
Memoir  of  Philip  and  Rachel 
Price 


i 


J 


£li   kirk  Trice 

MEMOIR 


OF 

PHILIP  AND  RACHEL  PKICE. 


"  Honour  thy  Father  and  thy  Mother." 


PHILADELPHIA: 
PRINTED  FOR  ELI  K.  PRICE  AND  PHILIP  M.  PRICE. 
1852. 


E.  B.  MEAKS,  STEREOTYPER. 


C.  SHERMAN,  PRINTER. 


ERRATA 


PAGE 

LINE 

10, 

8, 

for  "  was,  "  read  were  three  sons  one. 

19, 

15, 

for  "  or,  "     "  of. 

53, 

11. 

insert  Bryan,  Reed. 

82, 

9, 

for  "  Humphreys,"  read  Humphrey  Marshall. 

112, 

22, 

for  "  Illinois,  "  read  Indiana. 

169, 

12, 

for  "  receptance,"  read  acceptance. 

Digitized  by 

the  Internet  Archive 

in  2015 

https://archive.org/details/memoirofphilipraOOpric_0 


PHILIP  AND  RACHEL  PRICE. 


Beloved  and  venerated  parents,  your  memory  is 
cherished  by  your  children  with  a  devoted  affection  : 
Shall  they  pay  no  outward  tribute  of  respect,  nor  leave 
of  you  any  memorial  for  the  future  ?  To  you,  under  Pro- 
vidence, we  owe  it,  that  we  breathe  the  breath  of  life — 
that  we  open  our  eyes  to  the  glorious  light — behold  the 
beauties  of  all  created  things,  and  rejoice  in  a  happy 
existence.  To  you  we  owe  yet  more;  that  we  were 
trained  to  lives  of  usefulness,  guided  in  the  paths  of 
virtue,  and  from  your  lips  received  the  inspired  words  to 
turn  the  heart  in  love  to  God.  With  us  and  our  children 
the  recollection  of  beloved  features  will  pass  away ;  and 
shall  the  memory  also  of  your  worth,  affections,  and 
devoted  service  with  us  perish  for  ever  !  The  thought 
of  it  brings  the  reproach  of  a  delinquency  in  filial  duty 
to  you,  and  also  of  the  neglect  of  the  sacred  obligation 
we  owe  to  our  posterity,  to  perpetuate  your  precepts  and 
example,  for  their  observance  and  imitation.    To  com- 

3 


4 


THE  HUMBLY  GOOD. 


memorate  these  I  would  invoke  to  the  service  more  than 
the  skill  of  the  Egyptian  art  of  conservation,  that  yonr 
character  and  memory  might  be  embalmed  in  the  hearts 
of  our  descendants  in  all  the  purity  and  beauty  in  which 
you  lived,  and  yet  live  in  the  recollections  of  your 
children  :  And  as  your  long  lives  were  a  bright  exempli- 
fication of  the  power  of  Gospel  truth,  so  may  your 
memory  live  in  its  light  and  life,  enshrined  in  living  tem- 
ples of  love  and  devotion,  for  ages  to  come. 

To  commemorate  by  written  memorial  all  those  of  good 
name  who  have  lived  and  died  would  multiply  books  be- 
yond the  capacity  of  readers  to  peruse  more  than  a  very 
limited  selection.  The  beneficence  of  the  Creator  pro- 
duces in  his  creation  the  good  and  the  beautiful  in  bound- 
less profusion.  The  sequestered  flowers  that  bloom  unseen 
by  human  eye,  and  "  waste  their  sweetness  on  the  desert 
air,"  do  not  uselessly  grow, — but  produce  a  seed  that  in 
time  may  germinate  in  light,  and  lend  a  cure  to  the  heal- 
ing art.  The  humbly  good  that  pass  through  life  and 
challenge  no  admiration  of  men  may  unobtrusively  instil 
into  many  hearts  sentiments  to  be  perpetuated  for  the 
moral  and  religious  preservation  of  our  race :  And  if 
their  virtues  do  but  bloom  in  the  sight  of  the  Creator's 
Eye,  and  shed  a  fragrance  that  is  but  an  incense  to  Him, 
they  will  not  have  lived  in  vain. 

To  claim  a  worldly  distinction  for  those  whose  endea- 
vour it  ever  was — "to  do  justly,  and  to  love  mercy,  and 


BLENDED  NARRATIVE. 


5 


walk  humbly  with  their  God" — would  be  to  act  in  con- 
flict with  the  spirit  that  actuated  their  lives.  Acting 
solely  in  obedience  to  their  apprehension  of  duty  to  man 
and  his  Creator,  such  a  pretension  would  be  rebuked  by 
the  recollection  of  that  self-watchfulness  that  ever 
guarded  them  against  the  weakness  of  human  vanity,  and 
accounted  all  that  was  good  and  excellent  as  emanating 
from  a  Divine  Source ;  the  merit  of  which  man  cannot 
rightfully  claim  as  his  own.  Yet  all  of  their  history  that 
may  be  useful  to  others,  in  precept  or  example,  it  is  a 
duty  to  rescue  from  forgetfulness  and  loss )  and  to  per- 
petuate it,  is  in  perfect  consonance  with  their  sentiments 
and  character.  If  their  lives  were  rightfully  devoted,  the 
record  of  the  testimony  of  that  devotion  cannot  fail  to  be 
useful ;  and  faithfully  to  portray,  is  unavoidably  to  com- 
mend,— for  the  facts  speak  praise  :  But  praise  cannot 
reach  "  the  dull  cold  ear  of  death," — and  their  offspring 
cannot  share  it  but  by  a  like  deserving. 

The  plain  and  simple  memoirs  of  Philip  and  Rachel 
Price  will  readily  and  harmoniously  blend  in  the  narra- 
tive. United  early  in  life,  they  lived  together  in  cordial 
affection  and  harmony  of  views  for  more  than  half  a  cen- 
tury. Born  and  educated  in  the  Society  of  Friends,  and 
both  at  an  early  age  brought  under  that  Divine  influence 
which  alone  can  constitute  them  truly  its  members,  they 
devoted  their  protracted  lives  faithfully  to  the  duties 
which  its  discipline,  its  testimonies,  and  its  faith  enjoin. 
1* 


6  BIRTH  AND  PARENTAGE. 

The  one  successively  an  overseer  and  elder  and  the  other 
a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  they  were  never  called  to  move 
under  diverse  views,  and  were  only  separated  by  the  calls 
of  duty  leading  either  to  the  visitation  of  distant  places, 
when  the  sacrifice  was  made  from  the  united  sense  of  a 
religious  obligation.  These  separations  were  felt  to  be 
privations  in  proportion  to  the  intensity  of  their  affec- 
tion, but  in  a  like  degree  was  the  sacrifice  a  source  of 
consolatory  reflection,  when  their  minds  were  brought  to 
the  test  of  the  inquiry  whether  they  had  fulfilled  the 
Divine  injunctions  laid  upon  them.  In  the  performance 
of  the  services  required  they  were  often  separated  in  per- 
son, but  in  harmony  of  feeling,  devotion  to  duty,  love  for 
each  other  and  for  their  Maker,  there  was  ever  a  unity  in 
one  mind  and  one  spirit. 

Philip  Price  was  born  the  8th  day  of  the  First  month, 
1764,  and  was  the  fifth  in  the  line  of  lineal  descent  from 
Philip  Price,  who  came  into  Pennsylvania  with  the  Welsh 
settlers,  who  in  1682  took  up  Merion,  Haverford,  and 
Radnor  townships,  and  increasing  afterwards  settled  the 
townships  of  New-town,  Goshen,  and  Uwchlan  (1  Proud' s 
His.  221).  The  name  was  continued  to  him  through 
but  a  single  male  representative  in  each  generation  from 
the  first  settler.  His  father,  Philip  Price,  of  Darby,  died 
9  month  17th,  1811.  His  mother,  Hannah  Bonsall,  of 
Kingsessing,  was  of  English  descent,  and  of  a  family  of 
the  first  settlers  in  that  place.  They  were  both  members  of 


RESCUE  FROM  WANT.  7 

the  Society  of  Friends  in  good  esteem,  the  latter  an  elder, 
lived  together  in  close  harmony  half  a  century,  and 
extended  to  their  children  the  guarded  education  recom- 
mended by  the  discipline  of  their  religious  society. 

Rachel  Price,  born  the  18th  day  of  4th  month,  1763, 
was  a  daughter  of  William  Kirk,  of  East  Xantmeal, 
Chester  county,  the  tenth  child  of  Alphonsus  Kirk,  who 
came  from  the  North  of  Ireland,  and  settled  in  Centre, 
New  Castle  county,  in  1689  (1  Proud,  218),  and  of  Si- 
bylla Davis,  who  was  of  a  family  of  early  Welsh  settlers. 
They  were  also  members  and  held  in  esteem  in  the  Reli- 
gious Society  of  Friends,  and  their  children  received  from 
them  the  religious  care  customary  in  that  society. 

The  parents  of  neither  were  wealthy,  and  as  a  grazier 
in  Kingsessing,  Philip  Price  in  the  same  season  suffered 
the  loss  of  his  stock  of  fat  cattle  by  the  British,  and 
afterwards  of  his  poor  by  the  American  army,  during  the 
revolutionary  war. 

William  Kirk,  removing  from  his  father's  residence 
near  Wilmington,  prior  to  the  middle  of  last  century,  was 
a  pioneer  in  a  new  settlement,  and  encountered  the  usual 
hardships  and  perils  of  those  who  first  penetrate  the 
wilderness,  to  fell  the  forest  and  reclaim  the  earth  for 
cultivation.  At  an  early  period  of  this  settlement,  when 
the  clearing  was  small  and  the  crops  in  proportion,  a 
severe  winter  came  on,  with  a  heavy  snow  three  or  four 
feet  deep,  and  drifting,  made  the  roads  next  thing  to  im- 


8  RESCUE  FROM  WANT. 

passable.  It  found  them  destitute  of  provision.  The 
father  rode  all  day  to  procure  a  supply,  but  returned  at 
night  exhausted  and  sick,  without  any  success.  The 
feelings  of  the  wife  and  mother  were  roused  to  make 
another  effort  to  avert  starvation.  She  set  off  next 
morning  and  beating  her  way  through  the  snows  on 
horseback,  reached  G-eorge  Ashbridge's  mill,  now  Mill- 
town,  near  Westtown  School,  a  distance  of  more  than 
fourteen  miles.  She  offered  her  web  of  homespun  and 
next  year's  crop  in  pledge  for  meal ;  frankly  confessing 
that  they  were  without  food  and  without  money.  The 
miller — honoured  be  his  name,  as  yet  it  is  in  Chester 
county  and  the  city  of  Philadelphia  in  the  third  and 
fourth  generations — took  only  her  word,  and  furnished 
her  the  meal,  and  offered  to  supply  the  family  until  the 
next  harvest.  The  husband  in  her  absence  had  appeased 
the  sharpest  cravings  of  their  children's  hunger  by  the 
rinsings  of  the  kneading  bowl,  and  at  night  they  found 
respite  in  sleep.  But  the  sleepless  husband  watched  in 
deepest  anxiety  and  sympathy  for  her  return  all  the  night 
long,  during  which  the  heroic  wife  had  battled  with  the 
snows.  She  reached  their  cabin  in  the  morning,  with 
the  precious  store  for  relief,  and  the  husband  and  wife, 
overcome  with  joy  and  gratitude,  fell  into  each  other's 
arms  and  wept, — much  to  the  astonishment  of  her  young 
brother,  a  lad  of  ten  or  twelve  years  of  age,  at  such  a 
manifestation  of  rejoicing, — who   sensibly  hastened  to 


THE  POST  DOG.  9 

make  a  pot  of  mush  for  breakfast.  This  relief  from  the 
extremity  of  peril,  our  mother  often  told  us  with  a  like 
emotion,  her  father  never  could  relate  without  shedding 
tears ;  and  with  tears  the  narrative  is  now  written,  and 
will  often  so  be  read  by  the  descendants  of  William  Kirk. 
It  is  due  to  truth,  however,  to  say  that  the  courageous 
woman  was  the  first  wife,  Mary  Buckingham,  and  Rachel 
Price  was  a  daughter  of  the  second  wife  of  her  father. 

An  amusing  substitute  for  the  mail  occurred  between 
the  families.  William  Kirk  took  with  him  to  the  new 
settlement  a  dog  from  his  father's  house.  It  occurred 
that  the  dog  got  his  feelings  hurt  and  travelled  off  to  his 
old  home,  whence,  upon  the  like  offence  being  taken  upon 
a  like  show  of  disrespect,  he  travelled  back  again.  Ob- 
serving this  infirmity  of  temper,  or  perhaps  a  proper  self- 
respect  and  dignity,  it  was  practised  upon  so  as  to  make 
him  the  bearer  of  letters  to  and  fro,  inclosed  in  a  bladder 
tied  round  his  neck,  so  as  not  to  be  wet  in  swimming  the 
Brandywine.  The  letter  adjusted,  the  provocation  to  a 
departure  was  administered,  and  the  excited  temper  sped 
the  post  dog,  unconscious  of  the  calculated  purpose  of 
which  he  was  the  victim,  a  distance  of  thirty  miles,  at 
the  end  of  which  he  was  welcomed  by  food  and  caresses. 
This  incident  may  not  be  destitute  of  instruction  to 
others  than  the  canine  race  against  suffering  their  infirmi- 
ties to  be  played  upon  for  the  advantage  of  those  more 
cunning  than  themselves. 


10 


DEVIATION  AND  REPENTANCE. 


William  Kirk's  eldest  son,  Caleb,  interested  for  his 
father  in  his  loneliness  after  the  death  of  his  first  wife, 
and  desirous  of  a  good  mother-in-law  for  the  children, 
advised  his  marrying  an  excellent  widow  of  the  name  of 
Coates.  The  father  thought  she  was  rather  too  old  for 
him,  and  declined  taking  the  advice,  and  thereupon  the 
son  courted  and  married  her  himself.  The  only  issue  of 
the  latter  marriage  was  Elisha  Kirk,  an  eminent  minister 
among  Friends.  The  father,  besides  his  ten  children  by 
his  first  wife,  had  nine  by  his  second,  the  sixth  of  whom 
was  Rachel  Kirk.  Happily,  therefore,  it  was  that  the 
well  intended  advice  was  not  taken. 

Our  father  at  earliest  manhood,  for  deviations  so  slight 
that  the  world  would  deem  them  trivial  and  unimportant, 
was  visited  by  compunctions  and  a  repentance  that  pro- 
duced an  instant  and  marked  effect  on  all  his  after  life. 
Contrary  to  the  known  wishes  of  his  parents  he  adopted 
a  fashionable  style  of  dress,  and  with  a  company  of  other 
young  friends  inclined  to  gaiety,  visited  first  Shrewsbury 
and  afterwards  London  Grove  quarterly  meeting.  At 
the  latter  meeting,  the  powerful  preaching  of  Jacob 
Lindley  reached  home  to  his  state  of  feeling  so  strongly 
that  he  heeded  not  the  call  of  his  companions  to  rejoin 
them,  and  he  returned  home  by  himself,  already  experienc- 
ing the  precious  feelings  resulting  from  the  resolution  to 
take  up  the  cross  and  submit  to  the  Divine  will. 

Thus  commenced,  in  a  ministration  that  made  one  as  a 


LETTERS.  1] 

spiritual  father  the  instrument  of  arresting  an  erring  son, 
a  friendship,  that  made  them  in  after  life  affectionate  co- 
labourers  in  the  services  of  the  Church,  and  in  the  cause 
of  humanity. 

The  following  fragments  of  correspondence  indicate 
the  exercised  state  of  mind  which  followed  this  event, — 
of  a  youth  yet  considerably  in  his  minority. 

Kingsess.  23d  9  mo.  1782. 
Dear  Friend, — I  received  thy  letter  this  afternoon, 
and  shall  endeavour  to  answer  according  to  ability, — feel- 
ing much  love  towards  thee  at  this  time,  and  should  have 
been  glad  to  see  thee  at  the  meeting.  As  thee  seems 
anxious  to  hear  how  we  come  on,  I  shall  let  thee  know  a 
little  how  it  is  with  me  in  that  respect.  As  I  feel  my 
mind  much  drawn  from  the  follies  and  vanities  of  this 
world,  which  I  have  too  much  given  way  to,  to  my  hurt, 
I  find  at  this  time  that  I  cannot  keep  company  with  any 
one  on  the  account  that  thee  mentions.  This  is  very 
much  in  the  cross  of  the  natural  will,  but  I  find  I  cannot 
witness  true  peace  without  yielding  obedience  to  that 
forming  Hand  which  has  drawn  me  much  from  the 
world  and  worldly  things,  so  that  all  prospects  of  enter- 
ing into  business  or  settling  as  thee  mentions,  have  van- 
ished at  this  time.  But  if  way  should  open  more  clearly 
to  enter  into  that  business,  I  will  let  thee  know,  as  I 
would  as  soon  enter  into  partnership  with  thee  as  any  one 


12  LETTERS. 

else.  *  *  *  I  do  not  expect  to  come  down  to  the 
meeting.  I  desire  thy  welfare,  and  that  thou  wouldst 
give  up  thy  time  more  and  more  to  serve  Him  for  whose 
glory  we  are  all  created ;  so  that  when  these  fading  things 
shall  be  no  more,  we  shall  receive  an  admittance  into  the 
Arms  of  Everlasting  Peace  and  Rest.  What  will  all  the 
world  be  to  us  if  we  end  not  well  at  last  ?  I  believe 
there  is  no  time  like  giving  up  in  our  youth,  whilst 
health  and  strength  of  body  are  afforded  us ;  that  so 
we  may  be  as  lights  to  the  world,  that  others  seeing  our 
good  works,  may  glorify  God,  who  is  worthy  for  ever. 
Though  I  meet  with  discouragements  sometimes,  and  be- 
lieve myself  to  be  as  it  were  the  hindermost  of  the  flock, 
yet  I  feel  a  desire  that  all  my  companions,  as  well  as  my- 
self, may  come  to  see  ourselves  as  we  truly  are. 
I  remain  thy  loving  friend, 

Philip  Price. 

Kingsess.  the  16th  of  1  mo.  1783. 
My  Dear  Son, — I  received  thine,  which  was  a  comfort 
to  me,  and  I  have  esteemed  it  a  great  blessing  that  thou 
art  one  amongst  the  number  who  are  made  willing  to 
stand  for  the  testimony  of  truth,  and  my  desires  are  that 
thou  mayst  be  more  and  more  established,  and  that  thou 
mayst  not  run  too  fast,  nor  loiter  behind  thy  true  guide : 
for  what  we  are  is  by  mercy  and  not  any  merit  of  our 
own.    I  believe  it  is  good  for  us  often  to  examine  our- 


LETTERS.  13 

selves,  and  I  can  truly  say  that  thy  preservation,  with 
that  of  thy  brothers  and  sisters,  is  more  near  and  dear  to 
me,  than  all  other  earthly  blessings  j  and  that  it  is  a 
great  comfort  to  thy  father  and  me,  that  thy  mind  has 
been  thus  early  touched  with  that,  that  if  strictly  abided 
in,  will  lead  out  of  great  trouble  and  conflict  in  this  pre- 
sent world,  and  when  time  here  shall  be  no  more,  crown 
with  that  which  neither  this  fading  world,  nor  the  enjoy- 
ments thereof,  can  ever  give.  And  I  may  further  say 
that  I  hope  from  thy  example  thy  brothers  and  sisters 
may  be  willing  to  take  up  the  cross.  *  *  * 
From  thy  mother, 

Hannah  Price. 

To  Philip  Price,  Jr. 

Philadelphia,  2  mo.  5th,  1783. 
Esteemed  Friend, — Since  I  last  saw  thee  at  thy 
father's  house,  thou  hast  been  the  object  of  near  care  and 
sympathy,  being  confirmed  in  the  persuasion  that  He 
whose  mercy  is  over  all  His  works,  hath  in  infinite  loving 
kindness  cast  the  mantle  of  redeeming  love  over  thee. 
And  oh,  saith  my  spirit,  that  neither  heights  nor  depths, 
things  present  nor  those  that  yet  await  thee,  may  ever  be 
able  to  separate  from  this  enjoyment  of  the  love  of 
Christ  and  the  sweet  incomes  of  His  life-giving  presence. 
It  is  only  by  bowing  to  the  blessed  Root  and  abiding  in 

the  Living  Vine,  that  we  are  fitted  to  receive  Divine 

9 


14  LETTERS. 

instruction,  bearing  with  patience  and  resignation  the 
truly  necessary  preparation,  even  the  pruning  Hand. 
Thus  is  the  mind  enlightened,  and  an  enlargement  expe- 
rienced into  the  mysteries  of  the  Heavenly  Kingdom, 
and  we  not  only  discover  clearly  His  gracious  will  con- 
cerning us,  but  as  we  keep  a  single  eye  to  Him,  neither 
attempting  to  go  forward,  nor  in  the  moments  of  proving 
and  desertion,  when  the  winter  season  is  wisely  permitted, 
seeking  succour  and  nourishment  short  of  the  living 
eternal  substance.  We  shall  be  favoured  with  the  fur- 
ther discoveries  of  light  and  truth,  and  be  enabled  to 
withstand  the  unwearied  enemy,  however  various  his 
transformations,  and  mysterious  his  workings.  That 
thou  and  I  may  fervently  and  diligently  labour  after  this 
necessary  and  right  experience,  is  the  ardent  desire  of 
Thy  real  friend, 

Hannah  Cathrall. 

To  Philip  Price,  Jr. 

Kingscss.  5  mo.  1783. 
Dear  Friend, — I  have  been  at  home  about  a  week  ; 
since  which  I  attended  Concord  quarterly  meeting,  greatly 
to  my  satisfaction  and  peace  of  mind.  I  feel  a  near  sym- 
pathy with  thee,  my  dear  friend,  under  thy  present  trying 
dispensation,  which  I  have  wished  might  be  sanctified  to 
thy  further  refinement,  and  that  we  may  endeavour  for 
contentment  under  every  allotment,  which  the  Lord  in 


EARLY"  VISITATIONS. 


15 


Infinite  "Wisdom  is  pleased  to  place  us  in.  His  Holy 
Hand  is  underneath  His  dependent  children,  to  preserve 
them  and  lead  them  in  paths  they  have  not  seen,  and 
will  not  suffer  them  to  be  tried  beyond  what  they  can 
bear ;  but  He  will  arise  in  his  own  good  time  for  their 
deliverance.  I  write  from  a  small  degree  of  experience, 
being  as  it  were  left  alone  ;  but  He  who  knows  the  sin- 
cerity of  my  heart  has  been  pleased  again  to  favour  me 
at  times  with  a  glimpse  of  His  living  presence  ;  which  is 
a  cause  of  humble  thankfulness.  In  Him,  therefore,  let 
us  put  our  trust,  who  is  able  to  deliver  j  and  unto  whose 
Divine  Protection  I  recommend  thee,  with  desires  for 
thine  as  well  as  my  own  establishment  in  the  ever  blessed 
Truth.  With  that  love  which  united  us  in  the  paths  of 
self-denial,  I  remain  thy  assured  friend, 

P.  P^ice,  Jr. 

To  . 

Our  mother  has  left  her  own  account  of  her  early  reli- 
gious impressions.  "  I  believe  children  are  often  visited 
with  the  endearing  influence  of  Divine  Love  in  their  hearts 
even  in  early  years.  When  I  look  back  to  the  many  pre- 
cious feelings  that  I  was  favoured  to  witness  in  early  life, 
my  mind  is  clothed  with  gratitude  to  the  Author  of  my  ex- 
istence for  his  care  of  me.  Often,  when  my  pious  parents 
were  concerned  to  collect  their  numerous  offspring  together 
and  read  the  Scriptures  or  some  good  book,  the  sweet  im- 


16  EARLY  VISITATIONS. 

pressions  that  I  sometimes  felt  remain  fresh  in  my  recol- 
lection, now  in  advanced  age.  I  mention  this  for  the 
encouragement  of  parents,  who  may  have  young  families 
coming  up  around  them,  to  take  up  the  cross  and  invite 
their  children  together,  not  merely  in  a  formal  manner, 
but  with  sincere  desires  for  mutual  improvement.  Al- 
though parents  may  not  see  their  pious  labour  and  care 
crowned  with  success,  yet  I  believe  they  will  receive  the 
reward  of  peace,  and  may  have  the  hope  that  their  con- 
cern and  exercise  may,  like  the  bread  cast  upon  the 
waters,  be  found  after  many  days.  I  can  freely  acknow- 
ledge that  the  tender  care  of  my  pious  parents  was  the 
means,  under  the  guidance  of  best  wisdom,  of  preserving 
me  in  my  youthful  days,  from  many  of  the  snares  into 
which  too  many  of  the  unguarded  fall,  in  passing  along 
the  slippery  paths  of  youth.  They  were  not  stern  or 
severe  in  their  commands,  but  kept  the  way  open  for 
advice  and  counsel.  I  seldom  or  ever  parted  with  my 
dear  mother,  without  her  saying  to  me  something  in  this 
wise :  ' Now  thou  wilt  be  from  under  my  eyes  for  a  short 
time,  but  remember  that  thou  art  always  under  the  All- 
Seeing  Eye  that  is  watching  over  us  in  mercy.'  I  at  that 
time  thought  there  was  an  over  anxious  solicitude  about 
me,  but  since  I  have  experienced  the  anxiety  of  a  mother,  • 
I  feel  thankful  for  her  care." 

In  the  5th  month,  1782,  Rachel  Kirk  was  passing  by 
the  gate  of  Friends'  meeting-house,  at  Second  and  Market 


MET  IN  THE  WAY. 


17 


streets,  Philadelphia,  and  was  stopped  by  a  Friend  who 
took  her  hand,  and  asked,  "  Whence  comest  thou  ?"  Being- 
told  the  place  and  her  name,  and  having  answered  as  to 
the  settlement  in  life  of  her  sister  Rebecca,  whom  the 
Friend  had  met  before,  and  whom  he  remembered  and 
loved,  he  paused  and  said,  "  Rachel,  it  will  be  thy  turn 
next,  and  be  careful  that  thou  place  thy  affections  upon 
virtue.  Let  not  anything  short  of  virtue  sway  thy  mind. 
If  anything  inferior  should  gain  pre-eminence  in  thy  view, 
difficulties  may  ensue;  but  if  virtue  and  piety  govern 
tlry  mind  in  making  a  choice  of  a  companion,  you  may 
walk  hand  in  hand  happily  together  through  life,  and  be 
true  helpmates  to  each  other."  Still  holding  her  by  the 
hand,  he  continued, — "  Farewell :  now  mind  what  I  say." 
This  Friend  was  Samuel  Emlen,  an  eminent  minister,  who 
through  life  seemed  to  have  been  gifted  with  a  prophetic 
spirit.  That  casual  meeting — casual  so  far  as  man  can 
discern — in  the  crowded  market-place,  produced  a  lasting 
impression,  and  may  have  determined  the  current  of  a 
happy  and  useful  life.  Narrating  it  to  her  children,  after 
she  had  lived  in  wedlock  for  more  than  half  a  century, 
and  known  all  the  experience  of  a  long  life,  she  said,  "  ] 
thought  it  a  remarkable  interview  with  an  entire  stranger. 
But  it  was  of  great  use  to  me  in  settling  my  mind  tc 
make  a  prudent  choice,  which  was  soon  after  brought  to  a 
trial,  having  but  a  few  days  previously  become  acquainted 

with  Philip  Price,  with  whom  his  prediction  has  been 

2* 


IS 


MARRIAGE. 


verified,  and  as  far  realized  as  can  be  expected  in  this 
probationary  state  of  trial,  for  our  refinement  and  pre- 
paration for  a  more  perfect  state  of  existence/'  They 
were  married  on  the  20th  of  the  30th  month,  1784. 
Assisted  by  the  opportune  advice,  she  preferred  the  seri- 
ous, virtuous,  and  solid  character,  to  the  more  gay  and 
showy,  and  enjoyed  the  felicity  of  a  congenial  companion- 
ship through  life,  but  witnessed  the  moral  declension  of 
him  of  specious  address  and  appearance,  who  had  had 
but  a  momentary  power  to  hold  her  choice  in  suspense. 

Farming  was  the  business  of  Philip  Price.  After  his 
marriage  he  remained  three  years  with  his  father  in 
Kingsessing, — then  four  years  on  a  farm  in  East  Nant- 
meal,  Chester  county,  when  in  1791  he  bought  the  plan- 
tation lying  between  West  Chester  and  the  Brandywine. 
At  this  time,  like  much  of  the  surrounding  country,  it 
was  in  a  low  condition,  exhausted,  washed  into  gullies 
and  unclothed  with  verdure;  and  partly  overgrown  with 
poverty  grass,  briers,  and  alder  bushes.  Writing  to  Judge 
Peters  in  1796,  P.  Price  said — "In  the  spring  of  the 
year  1792,  I  fenced  off  a  piece  of  about  four  acres  (to 
fold  his  cattle),  being  a  part  of  a  large  field  that  was 
much  reduced,  washed  into  deep  gullies  in  many  parts, 
and  which  had  been  totally  neglected  for  many  years. 
The  appearance  was  so  disagreeable  that  I  put  no  value 
on  it  when  I  purchased  the  place,  though  the  field  con- 
tained fifty  acres."  Mem.  Pha.  Ag.  Soc'y.  2  vol.  The 


AGRICULTURE. 


19 


highest  efforts  of  agricultural  improvement  in  this 
neighbourhood  at  the  time  of  the  purchase  were  those  of 
a  few  meadows  under  artificial  irrigation.  Philip 
Price  was  in  communication  with  Judge  Peters,  Dr. 
Mease,  and  others,  who  had  begun  to  take  a  lively  interest 
in  the  advancement  of  agriculture,  and  his  acquaintance 
and  observation  extended  to  the  best  practical  farmers 
and  farms  in  the  country.  He  commenced  on  his  newly 
purchased  place  a  course  of  improvement  in  manuring, 
the  sowing  of  red  clover  and  other  grasses,  and  in  the 
rotation  of  crops,  that  rapidly  took  effect,  and  rewarded 
his  skill  and  labour.  Lime  was  obtained  from  the  "  Val- 
ley," gypsum  or  plaster  from  tide  water,  and  freely 
administered  ;  the  stable  manure  was  protected  by  shelter, 
and  applied  without  loss  of  strength  before  the  autumnal 
seeding  of  wheat.  Judge  Peters,  in  publishing  the  com- 
munications of  Philip  Price  and  others,  on  the  advantages 
of  plaster  of  paris,  says,  "I  have  heard  of  none  who 
have  been  more  remarkably  successful  in  the  plaster  sys- 
tem than  Mr.  West  and  Mr.  Price.  They  have  brought 
old  worn-out  lands  to  an  astonishing  degree  of  fertility 
and  profit,  by  combining  the  plaster  with  other  manures." 
Ib.  34. 

The  best  rotation  of  crops,  that  resulted  from  expe- 
rience, was  to  break  up  the  sod  late  in  the  fall  or  early  in 
the  spring,  and  to  plant  the  field  with  Indian  corn,  pump- 
kins, and  potatoes — the  former  intermixed,  the  latter 


20 


ROTATION  OF  CROPS. 


manured ;  the  second  year  to  sow  with  barley  or  oats, 
and  after  the  removal  of  this  crop,  to  plough  the  stubble, 
manure  and  sow  with  wheat  in  the  fall,  upon  which  was 
sown  the  clover  and  timothy  seed,  to  come  into  use  for 
pasture  after  the  wheat  harvest  of  the  next  summer,  and 
to  be  mowed  and  pastured  with  the  use  of  gypsum  for 
several  successive  years,  until  the  field  came  in  rotation 
for  a  like  repetition  of  crops.  This  process  of  careful 
husbandry  transformed  the  exhausted  hills  of  the  Brandy- 
wine  into  their  present  fertile  and  beautiful  appearance, 
and  made  them  a  garden  spot  of  the  world.  And  the 
worthless  old  worn-out  "  fifty  acre  field,"  its  proprietor 
lived  to  see  worth  more  than  a  hundred  dollars  an  acre, 
in  common  with  the  residue  of  the  plantation.  To  have 
been  a  pioneer  in  a  process  so  beneficent  and  of  appa- 
rently magical  results,  would  be  felt  as  no  small  honour 
to  those  who  respire  their  happiness  in  the  popular  favour 
and  applause.  To  Philip  Price  it  was  simply  a  source  of 
benevolent  satisfaction,  in  contemplating  the  good  he  had 
aided  in  accomplishing,  of  which  his  eye  took  a  wide 
survey,  from  the  porch  of  his  mansion ;  but  the  obligation 
was  not  forgotten  by  his  neighbours,  in  after  years,  when 
the  members  of  the  Chester  County  Agricultural  Society 
elected  him  its  first  President. 

The  results  of  the  experiments  of  P.  Price  in  the  use 
of  plaster,  as  communicated  in  1796,  in  answer  to  the 
queries  of  Judge  Peters,  were  that  on  a  high  loamy  soil 


GYPSUM.  21 

it  operated  better  than  on  low-lying  clay  ground ;  one  to 
one-and-a-half  bushels  per  acre  are  sufficient,  repeated 
yearly  while  in  clover  j  the  effect  is  good  with  or  without 
recent  ploughing;  is  without  liability  to  leave  the  soil 
exhausted,  as  from  the  effect  of  a  stimulus,  where  the 
product  is  returned  in  manure ;  that  it  is  most  beneficially 
applied  to  Indian  corn  and  red  clover, — but  usefully  to 
other  grasses  and  grain  crops  j  and  may  be  used  advanta- 
geously with  or  without  other  manuring,  and  with  most 
striking  effect,  if  not  immediately  preceded  by  other 
manure.  The  best  time  to  strew  it  is  at  the  first  harrow- 
ing of  Indian  corn,  and  on  clover,  with  a  small  quantity 
soon  after  it  comes  up,  to  be  repeated  as  soon  as  vegeta- 
tion takes  place  in  the  spring;  this  giving  a  stimulus 
when  most  needed.  The  effect  is  most  visible  on  a  poor 
soil, — eight  acres  sowed  plentifully  with  it  without  other 
manure,  in  five  years  became,  says  P.  Price,  "worth  ten 
times  what  it  was  before  I  plastered  it,  the  face  of  the 
soil  appearing  to  be  entirely  changed,  and  is  admired  by 
all  who  have  hitherto  known  it but  though  now  (1852) 
in  a  high  state  of  cultivation,  the  same  article  is  annually 
used  with  decided  advantage,  on  the  same  farm. 

Early  in  life  it  became  a  manifested  duty  of  Divine 
requisition  unto  Rachel  Price,  that  she  should  make  a 
public  appearance  in  the  ministry.  Though  it  was  a  well 
settled  doctrine  of  the  Society  of  Friends  that  the  gift 
of  the  Gospel  ministry  is  not  confined  to  either  sex,  yet 


22 


CALL  TO  THE  MINISTRY. 


so  heavily  did  the  weight  of  responsibility  rest  upon  her 
mind  that  she  diligently  sought  the  Scriptures  to  find 
authority  for  exemption  from  the  service,  and  consequent 
relief  of  mind.  From  the  writings  of  the  Apostle  Paul 
the  desired  exoneration  might  perhaps  have  been  gathered, 
if  the  strength  of  conviction  and  sense  of  obligation  had 
been  less  powerful.  But  when  she  reflected  that  God  is 
no  respecter  of  persons,  that  His  spirit  is  given  to  all, 
and  that  woman  and  man,  are  "  heirs  together  of  the 
grace  of  life,"  she  could  not  doubt  that  she  was  equally 
under  the  command — "freely  ye  have  received,  freely 
give." 

Under  the  solemn  impressions  made  upon  her  mind 
when  attending  the  funeral  of  an  ancient  friend,  it  was 
manifested  to  her — "now  is  the  acceptable  time;"  and  in 
a  broken  voice  she  was  enabled  to  declare — "  God  is  a 
spirit,  and  they  that  worship  him  aright  must  worship 
Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  for  it  is  such  that  He  seeketh 
to  worship  Him and  she  found  in  obedience  the  reward 
of  peace.  Again  she  doubted  and  questioned  her  own 
mission  or  that  of  any  female  appearing  in  the  ministry ) 
when  Deborah  Darby  and  Rebecca  Young,  English 
Friends,  visited  the  meeting,  and  the  former  spoke  so 
clearly  to  the  subject  and  her  condition  of  mind  as  to 
remove  all  doubting ;  so  that  late  in  life  she  was  enabled 
to  testify  that — "  I  have  never  at  any  time  since  been 
tempted  to  question  the  propriety  of  women's  preaching, 


WOMAN'S  PREACHING.  23 

fully  believing  in  the  declaration  that  male  and  female 
are  one  in  Christ.  My  merciful  Lawgiver  and  Judge, 
who  knew  that  my  heart  was  not  altogether  stubborn, 
but  rather  feared  the  putting  forth  my  hand  to  the  Ark 
unbidden,  condescended  to  manifest  His  presence  by 
breaking  and  handing  forth  a  little  of  his  Heavenly 
bread ;  and  I  was  enabled  again  to  taste  of  his  goodness, 
and  praise  His  Holy  name  as  on  the  banks  of  deliverance  ; 
but  with  fear  and  trembling,  lest  I  should  add  to  or  take 
away  from  what  He  should  command."  "  Those  dear 
Friends  visited  and  had  precious  opportunity  under  our 
roof.  Deborah,  after  saying  a  good  deal  to  encourage  us, 
particularly  addressed  herself  to  me,  saying,  '  Why  art 
thou  discouraged  on  account  of  the  smallness  of  thy  gift 
in  the  ministry  ?  Doest  thou  not  know  that  five  words 
fitly  spoken  in  season  are  better  than  five  thousand  with- 
out life  ?  It  is  by  being  faithful  in  the  little,  that  we  have 
the  promise  of  being  made  rulers  over  more.'  These 
excellent  remarks  encouraged  me  then,  and  often  since 
have  afforded  me  instruction  and  strength." 

In  yielding  to  the  sacrifices  to  be  made  in  the  discharge 
of  her  ministerial  duties,  she  always  had  the  support  and 
encouragement  of  her  husband.  Both  equally  understood 
their  proper  relationship  in  respect  to  the  conditions  of 
this  life,  and  in  respect  to  obligations  above  all  human 
control.  In  all  that  related  to  earthly  affairs,  free  con- 
sultation and  sympathetic  aid  subsisted,  without  inter- 


24 


WOMAN'S  PREACHING. 


ference  with  the  assigned  duties  of  the  head ;  and  also  in 
spiritual  concerns  the  like  freedom  of  communion  and 
interchange  of  feeling  cemented  their  happiness,  but  with 
an  implicit  deference  to  the  higher  sanction  of  a  Spirit- 
ual authorization  to  either.  This  harmonious  sympathy 
and  mutual  deference  imparted  a  moral  and  religious 
beauty  to  their  life ;  and  made  it  not  only  an  example, 
but  a  happy  illustration,  as  the  natural  fruit  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  their  religious  profession.  The  wife  whose  mind 
is  truly  impressed  with  the  sense  of  religious  obligation 
will  not  fail  in  her  deference  to  her  husband  in  temporal 
matters, — and  the  husband  in  like  manner  impressed 
could  not  presume  to  control  the  spiritual  exercises  and 
powers  of  the  wife,  for  which,  ,as  an  immortal  being,  she 
is  accountable  to  the  Almighty.  Under  this  paramount 
sanction,  her  life  of  religious  thought  and  prayerful  devo- 
tion to  her  Creator,  brings  her  upon  a  perfect  equality 
with  man,  and  the  history  of  the  Society  of  Friends  has 
been  adorned  with  many  instances  in  which  woman  has 
excelled  in  the  powers  of  persuasive  conviction  and  true 
religious  eloquence.  Apart  from  the  gifts  of  natural 
talent  and  spiritual  endowment,  she  ever  addresses  hearers 
prone  to  believe  in  her  superior  purity  of  life  and  thought, 
her  greater  sincerity  of  belief,  warmth  of  affection,  arid 
more  ardent  devotional  piety.  This  condition  of  the 
hearer  is  the  best  commencement  to  persuasion — and 
under  it  the  guarded,  perhaps  hardened  heart,  admits  more 


LESSON  OF  INSTRUCTION. 


25 


readily  the  divine  visitation  that  leads  to  condemnation, 
repentance,  and  submission. 

An  early  lesson  of  instruction  to  our  mother,  which 
remained  with  her  through  life,  and  is  left  for  her  children, 
was  derived  in  this  wise :  She  had  heard  John  Simp- 
son very  instructively  in  the  ministry,  and  particularly 
so  in  explaining  the  mysteries  of  the  Revelations )  and 
on  an  expected  visit  from  him,  looked  forward  to  it  as  an 
occasion  of  spiritual  instruction  in  respect  to  the  sublime 
truths,  which  had  so  interestingly  engaged  his  mind  in 
the  ministry.  She  was  disappointed  to  find  him  drawn 
to  speak  familiarly  of  his  farming  operations,  and  to  ab- 
stain from  those  high  and  serious  matters  her  own  mind 
was  dwelling  upon :  and  among  other  things  he  narrated 
was  the  occurrence  of  a  disorderly  contest  among  his 
hands  in  the  harvest  field,  whereby  they  injured  his 
wheat.  He  started  to  arrest  their  proceedings,  determined 
to  turn  some  of  them  out  of  the  field  in  a  hurry,  but  was 
himself  arrested  in  the  way  by  a  voice  which  inwardly 
spoke  to  him  in  the  language,  "John,  govern  thyself  be- 
fore thou  art  rightly  qualified  to  govern  other s."  He  sat 
down  until  his  own  mind  was  quieted,  then  went  to  the 
men,  addressed  them  upon  the  impropriety  and  ingrati- 
tude of  wasting  the  grain  bountifully  bestowed  for  our 
sustenance  by  a  merciful  Creator ;  and  was  heard  with 
respect  and  submission,  all  steadily  resuming  their  work. 
Our  mother  concluded  this  to  be  the  lesson  she  most 
3 


26  RELIGIOUS  JOURNEY. 

stood  in  need  of  as  one  of  the  heads  of  a  large  family 
of  various  dispositions,  saying,  "I  felt  the  necessity  of 
keeping  self  under  proper  control  in  order  for  the  right 
regulation  of  those  about  me ;  and  the  incident  was  often 
recurred  to  in  silence  for  my  own  improvement,  and 
sometimes  recommended  to  others  for  their  advantage." 

One  of  the  earliest  occasions  of  prolonged  absence  of 
either  from  home  on  a  religious  journey,  apparent  from 
their  correspondence,  was  the  accompaniment  by  Philip 
Price  of  Charity  Cook,  and  Susanna  Hollingsworth,  of 
South  Carolina,  on  a  visit  to  the  meetings  of  the  Society 
in  Virginia  and  "Western  Pennsylvania,  during  the  severe 
winter  of  1796-97.  The  crossing  of  the  mountains  was 
then  a  difficult  task,  not  free  from  danger.  He  writes 
from  Virginia :  "  I  wish  thee  may  be  favoured  to  bear 
with  patience  my  absence,  being  in  hopes  it  is  still  right 
for  me  to  go  on  with  them,  however  trying  it  may  be. 
I  feel  an  earnest  desire  of  being  found  in  my  allotment 
(of  duty).  I  have  had  some  heavy  exercises  to  pass 
through  since  I  have  been  from  home,  both  on  my  own 
account  and  on  that  of  the  Society,  but  I  have  endea- 
voured to  come  into  a  state  of  resignation,  wherein  I  now 
enjoy  a  good  degree  of  peace  of  mind.  *  *  I  could 
write  a  good  deal  more,  but  must  decline  at  present,  as  it 
is  so  cold  the  ink  freezes  in  my  pen,  although  near  a  good 
fire."  From  Redstone  he  wrote,  "  Way  has  been  wonder- 
fully made  for  us  to  get  along,  without  meeting  with  any 


RELIGIOUS  JOURNEY.  27 

accident  or  injury,  yet  not  without  great  dangers,  wherein 
we  have  experienced  that  Preserving  Power  to  he  near  in 
our  greatest  straits,  who  I  have  no  doubt  has  called  for 
the  present  dedication-  My  faith  has  .never  been  more 
closely  tried,  I  believe,  on  any  occasion."  *  *  *  "I 
have  no  doubt  but  thou  feels  thy  situation  lonesome  and 
often  trying  in  my  absence,  but  I  have  a  hope  thou  art 
preserved  in  patience  and  submission  to  the  Will  of  Him 
to  whom  we  ought  to  submit  in  all  things,  and  let  these 
trials  work  for  our  further  refinement  and  purification." 
*  *  "I  often  remember  my  dear  children,  and  have  no 
doubt  of  thy  care  over  them,  which  makes  me  feel  easy 
on  their  account.  Oh  that  they  may  be  preserved  in 
innocency  and  virtue,  which  I  hope  will  be  more  our 
concern  for  them  than  anything  besides  in  this  fading 
world."  On  their  return  journey  he  again  writes,  "  the 
labour  of  my  dear  devoted  companions  has  been  close  and 
searching  in  most  places  where  our  lot  has  been  cast,  but 
they  have  been  enabled  to  discharge  their  duty  so  as  to 
pass  along  with  much  peace  of  mind,  of  which  I  am 
sometimes  favoured  to  partake  a  share  in  feeling  a  silent 
travail  for  Zion's  prosperity.  There  appear  to  be  many 
in  most  places  who  depend  upon  the  labours  of  the  faith- 
ful traveller,  and  neglect  the  work  in  themselves,  which 
makes  me  fear  the  things  which  belong  to  their  peace 
will  be  hid  from  them.  It  has  been  a  baptising  time  to 
the  churches  in  many  places,  but  mournful  to  behold  the 


28  RELIGIOUS  JOURNEY. 

little  fruit  that  is  brought  forth  to  the  praise  of  the 
Great  Husbandman,  who  has  so  freely  sent  forth  His 
labourers.  I  often  feel  my  mind  deeply  impressed  in  be- 
holding the  low  state  of  things  amongst  us,  and  under 
discouragement  when  I  behold  how  many  things  are  suf- 
fered to  eclipse  the  beauty  that  would  shine  more  and 
more  from  amongst  us,  were  we  to  live  up  to  what  we  are 
called,  and  what  we  profess  to  believe. "  *  *  "I  often 
wish  for  thy  dear  company  in  these  closely  trying  seasons, 
which  I  have  often  met  with,  thou  knowest,  when  we  were 
together,  and  have  been  increasingly  my  lot  since  we 
parted.  But  when  I  come  to  a  state  of  resignation  I  am 
favoured  for  a  time  to  feel  a  degree  of  peace,  which  is 
what  I  have  longed  to  experience  more  than  any  other 
enjoyment  in  this  world,  and  it  is  to  be  preferred  to  every- 
thing besides. "  The  responses  of  his  beloved  wife 
breathed  the  same  deep  religious  dedication  and  sympa- 
thizing affection.  "  My  anxiety  for  thy  preservation  is 
at  times  past  description,  though  at  some  times  I  am 
favoured  with  resignation  and  patience  to  bear  thy  long 
absence  from  me  with  more  fortitude  than  I  expected.  I 
feel  my  mind  measurably  supported  under  it  at  this  time, 
yet  often,  very  often,  forcibly  feel  the  want  of  thy  tender, 
sympathizing,  and  endearing  company,  in  my  present 
trying  situation." 

A  lasting  friendship  was  formed  between  these  travel- 
lers, who  had  moved  together  in  that  "  unity  of  spirit 


YELLOW  FEVER. 


29 


which  is  the  bond  of  peace. "  A  correspondence  ensued 
after  Charity's  return,  and  while  on  a  visit  to  Europe,  in 
the  affectionate  terms  of  a  mother  to  a  son,  by  which 
title  she  addressed  him. 

In  the  fall  of  1798,  the  yellow  fever  prevailed  with 
great  fatality  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  In  their 
humane  efforts  to  relieve  the  sick  and  dying,  Philip's 
brother  Isaac  Price  (a  member  of  the  Board  of  Health), 
was  prostrated  with  the  disease,  and  his  brother-in-law, 
Edward  G-arrigues,  exposed  to  imminent  danger  in 
attending  the  sick.  These  were  both  remarkable  men. 
Isaac  was  of  a  happy  and  joyous  temperament,  and  his 
gayety  a  degree  beyond  what  his  more  sober  brethren 
could  fully  sympathize  with ;  but  not  less  innocent, 
humane,  and  devoted  to  the  high  calls  of  duty,  to  which 
at  this  period  his  life  fell  a  sacrifice.  Edward,  of  a 
French  descent,  possessed  extraordinary  physical  energy, 
courage,  and  force  of  character,  to  young,  superficial  ob- 
servers, apparently  uncongenial  to  the  mild  and  subdued 
character  of  the  Friend.  Yet  he  bowed  with  implicit 
submission  to  the  power  of  religion,  owned  its  gentle  in- 
fluences on  the  heart,  and  was  ever  ready  to  serve  with 
alacrity  and  zeal  the  cause  of  truth  and  humanity,  and 
to  extend  hospitality  and  aid  in  the  progress  of  those 
travelling  in  the  ministry  and  service  of  the  Church. 
Responding  9  mo.  10,  to  a  letter  from  Philip  Price, 
"truly  consoling"  and  acknowledging  a  "tender  sympa- 
3* 


30 


YELLOW  FEVER. 


thy,"  he  writes,  "  Our  brother  Isaac  is  in  a  quiet,  com- 
posed frame  *  *  his  mind  evidently  striving  for 
best  support;"  and  on  the  15th,  "Our  dear  Isaac  is  con- 
siderably better  in  health,  and  I  hope  is  likely  to  be 
raised  up  once  more  as  a  monument  of  Divine  mercy, 
and  that  he  with  many  more  may  not  only  be  willing  to 
sing  His  praise,  as  on  the  banks  of  deliverance,  but  also 
remember  His  marvellous  works."  *  *  "I  hope  your 
benevolent  minds,  who  have  been  engaged  for  the  accom- 
modation of  the  distressed  citizens  of  this  once  highly 
favoured  city,  may  enjoy  in  this  lot  the  hundred  fold  of 
peace,  and  joy  unmixed  in  a  never  ending  eternity." 
The  improvement  that  gave  hope  in  the  morning  was  but 
the  prelude  of  the  approaching  dissolution  that  took 
place  on  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  as  announced  in  a 
subsequent  letter.  "  It  hath  pleased  the  Almighty  Fa- 
ther of  Mercies  to  release  the  spirit  of  our  dear  Isaac 
this  evening.  He  was  favoured  with  much  composure, 
and  an  easy  passage,  I  trust  to  everlasting  rest."  Next 
morning  at  7  o'clock,  he  adds,  "I  have  just  returned 
from  attending  the  last  office  to  our  brother.  *  *  Dear 
Stephen  Grellet,  the  sure  friend  of  distress,  and  most  ex- 
cellent nurse,  not  only  attending  our  brother  with  the 
assiduity  of  a  near  connexion,  but  at  this  early  hour  I 
found  he  was  most  willing  to  accompany  me  to  the  grave. 
His  company  in  my  family  I  hope  and  trust  will  add  a 
blessing  by  his  exemplary  deportment."    On  the  29th  he 


AN  INCIDENT. 


31 


further  writes,  "  It  lias  pleased  the  great  1  Am  to  miti- 
gate this  dreadful  pestilence,  which  has  hurried  more  than 
three  thousand  souls  into  a  boundless  eternity."  *  * 
"  The  sweet  solacing  comfort  in  some  of  the  chambers 
where  I  have  attended  has  never  been  exceeded,  at  any 
former  period  of  my  life.  Oh,  that  I  may,  with  many, 
very  many  more,  improve  under  the  awful  dispensation  I" 
Again,  a  month  later,  he  says,  "  Oh,  that  the  sufferings 
of  the  present  day  may  soften  my  hard  heart,  so  as  to 
make  a  lasting  impression,  and  not  be  as  the  morning 
cloud  which  soon  passeth  away." 

An  anecdote  illustrative  of  the  fearless  character  of 
Edward  G-arrigues  is  in  traditional  remembrance  in  the 
family,  which  may  be  more  easily  excused  by  Friends  as 
occurring  while  he  was  yet  a  young  man.  An  American 
officer  during  the  revolution,  in  the  entry  of  Cook's  build- 
ing at  Third  and  High  streets,  undertook  to  abuse  the 
Quakers  in  general  and  his  father-in-law  Philip  Price  in 
particular,  as  Tories,  for  which  Edward  took  him  to  task, 
and  reminded  him  how  often  Philip  Price  had  fed  him 
and  the  American  soldiers  with  tubs  of  soup  in  his 
orchard  at  the  Swedes'  Church,  Kingsessing.  The  officer's 
temper  got  roused  as  he  was  worsted  in  the  argument, 
and  he  drew  his  sword  on  Edward,  who  instantly  wrested 
it  from  his  grasp,  and  seizing  the  officer  by  the  waistband, 
pitched  him  over  the  lower  half-door  then  in  use,  sprawl- 
ing into  the  street,  much  to  the  amusement  of  the  soldiers 


32 


VISIT  OF  JOHN  HALL. 


who  witnessed  the  feat.  It  is  not  related  whether  this 
circumstance  led  the  officer  into  serious  reflection  and 
amendment  of  conduct,  but  certain  it  was  that  he  after- 
wards reformed,  became  convinced  of  Friends'  principles, 
and  an  eminent  minister  in  the  Society. 

The  loss  by  death  of  one  brother  and  the  failure  in 
business  soon  afterwards  of  the  other,  increased  the  care 
and  anxiety  of  Philip  Price,  junior,  as  the  next  friend 
and  protector  of  their  families ;  and  he  discharged  his 
duty  as  such  towards  them,  and  to  others  later  in  life 
having  like  claims,  faithfully,  affectionately,  and  liberally, 
and  transmitted  as  an  inheritance  the  like  duty  and  obli- 
gation to  that  daughter  who  had  lived  with  him  and  most 
immediately  represented  him  in  position,  as  she  also  did 
in  disposition,  and  a  kind  and  considerate  care  and  con- 
cern for  all  who  had  claims  as  relatives  and  friends. 

In  the  years  1800  and  1801,  John  Hall,  an  English 
minister,  was  a  frequent  inmate  in  the  family  of  P.  and  R. 
Price,  and  his  cheerful  temper  and  pleasant  humour 
made  his  company  as  acceptable  to  the  children,  as  were 
his  religious  experience  and  instructive  conversation 
grateful  to  their  parents.  At  considerable  sacrifice  in 
leaving  a  young  and  numerous  family,  P.  Price  accom- 
panied him  in  his  visits  to  the  meetings  of  Friends  in  the 
eastern  part  of  Pennsylvania,  as  far  as  Muncy,  Catawissa, 
&c,  into  the  State  of  Delaware,  and  part  of  New  Jersey. 
These  occasions  of  absence  are  spoken  of  as  seasons  of 


VISIT  OF  JOHN  HALL. 


33 


trial,  but  in  the  end  rewarded  with  the  feeling  of  peace 
resulting  from  the  discharge  of  apprehended  duty.  He 
writes,  "  I  do  not  know  that  I  ever  left  home  with  my 
mind  under  more  embarrassments,  but  have  since  been 
favoured  to  get  into  a  more  quiet  and  resigned  state  of 
mind,  and  I  believe  I  never  experienced  a  time  wherein 
I  felt  a  greater  necessity  of  putting  my  trust  in  that 
Power  which  is  able  to  carry  us  through  every  trying  dis- 
pensation we  may  meet  with/'  "  Dear  John  has  been 
much  favoured,  being  more  enlarged  than  I  have  known 
him  at  any  time  before.  The  number  of  Friends  (in 
Delaware)  is  generally  small  at  each  meeting,  but  many 
other  people  often  attend,  to  whom  the  call  seems  much  to 
be  extended."  From  New  York,  4  mo.  15,  1802,  John 
Hall  wrote,  u  I  expect  by  this  time  thou  hast  heard  of 
my  coming  to  this  place  under  a  prospect  of  embarking 
for  my  native  land,  and  can  now  inform  thee,  that  through 
an  humble  attention  to  the  pointings  of  the  Great  Shep- 
herd of  Israel,  I  have  been  favoured  to  see  the  right  time 
to  leave  this  country,  I  think  in  as  clear  a  point  of  view 
as  I  did  to  come  here,  which  I  esteem  a  great  favour, 
among  many  others  I  have  been  made  a  partaker  of. 
Though  my  trials  have  been  many,  and  in  depths  often, 
yet  I  have  no  cause  to  complain,  but  in  humility  of  heart 
set  up  my  Ebenezer,  and  say,  Hitherto  the  Lord  hath 
helped  me.  It  felt  solemn  to  my  mind  in  parting  with 
thee  and  thy  beloved  wife,  to  whom  I  have  felt  my  mind 


34 


VISIT  OF  JOHN  HALL. 


nearly  united  in  the  near  bonds  of  gospel  fellowship,  and 
though  we  are  parted  one  from  another,  yet  are  often 
present  in  spirit  and  in  epistles  written  on  the  fleshly 
tablets  of  the  heart,  by  the  blessed  Head  of  the  Church. 
As  He  and  His  Father  are  one,  even  so  we  are  one  in  the 
Covenant  of  Life,  being  made  partakers  of  the  same 
spiritual  bread.  My  leaving  the  city  (of  Philadelphia) 
was  a  solemn  time  to  me,  and  I  rejoiced  in  being  favoured 
with  so  many  united  and  concurring  testimonies  from  my 
dear  friends  in  that  place,  that  I  left  them  in  the  right 
time  and  their  prayers  for  my  preservation  were  as  mar- 
row to  my  bones.  There  is  a  precious  remnant  in  your 
parts  to  whom  I  feel  my  mind  nearly  united :  May  the 
Lord  preserve  them  as  in  the  hollow  of  His  holy  hand." 

In  the  retrospect  of  his  American  travels  and  service, 
John  Hall  wrote  from  "Broughton,  11  mo.  16,1803 — 
Beloved  friend  (Philip  Price) — Although  about  eighteen 
months  have  passed  over  since  I  conversed  with  thee 
through  the  medium  of  my  pen,  yet  I  can  assure  thee 
that  my  love  and  affectionate  regard  for  thee,  thy  dear 
Rachel,  and  beloved  children,  is  not  the  least  abated  or 
worn  out  j  for  I  can  tell  thee  that  by  my  fireside,  and 
when  in  my  bed,  my  mind  frequently  takes  its  flight  over 
the  great  Atlantic  Ocean,  to  visit  many  of  my  dear 
Friends ;  and  thy  habitation  often  has  a  large  share.  I 
often  call  to  mind  the  many  pleasant  days  and  nights  I 
spent  with  you  and  your  beloved  children.    It  was  truly 


WEST-TOWN  SCHOOL.  35 

a  place  of  rest  to  the  sole  of  niy  foot,  because  I  found 
the  Sun  of  Peace  to  be  there.  May  you,  my  dear  friends, 
be  so  far  preserved  as  still  to  be  in  the  abodes  of  peace. 
This  will  make  amends  for  all.  I  believe  you  have  your 
trials  and  exercises  as  well  as  others  for  the  Truth's  sake, 
and  happy  are  they  who  continue  with  the  Master  in  his 
afflictions.  I  believe  the  same  promise  that  was  formerly 
made  to  his  disciples  will  be  your  reward — '  Ye  are  they 
who  have  continued  with  me  in  my  tribulations,  and  I 
appoint  unto  you  a  kingdom/  "    *    *  * 

Towards  the  close  of  the  last  century,  the  Yearly  Meet- 
ing of  the  Society  of  Friends,  held  in  Philadelphia,  had 
come  to  the  resolution  of  establishing  a  Boarding  School 
at  West-Town,  for  the  better  and  guarded  education  of 
the  youth  of  the  Society.  In  the  year  1795,  Philip  Price 
was  appointed  one  of  the  committee,  which  had  charge 
of  the  construction,  opening,  and  supervision  of  the  insti- 
tution. In  this  capacity  he  continued  to  devote  much  of 
his  time  from  his  first  appointment  until  the  year  1818, 
when  Philip  and  Rachel  Price  were  appointed  the  Super- 
intendents, in  which  offices  they  remained  until  1830, 
making  a  connected  service  of  thirty-five  years  for  the 
welfare  of  that  School.  There  were  educated  successively 
all  their  ten  children,  commencing  with  the  day  of  its 
opening  in  1799  ;  and  to  it  those  children  owed  nearly 
all  that  they  received  of  an  education  beyond  the  primary 
instruction  of  the  country  schools.    The  course  of  studies 


36  WEST-TOWN  SCHOOL. 

did  not  then  extend  to  the  languages,  but  it  was  so  much 
more  and  better  than  that  then  prevalent  in  the  country 
as  to  be  an  invaluable  blessing  to  them,  and  to  the  large 
numbers  who  have  been  educated  there,  numbering  gene- 
rally about  two  hundred  of  both  sexes  at  a  time,  through 
now  over  half  a  century.  The  value  of  the  instruction 
derived  at  this  seminary  has  been  of  incalculable  service 
to  the  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  putting  them 
generally  in  advance  of  others  in  otherwise  equal  circum- 
stances, for  intelligence,  respectability  of  character,  and 
power  of  usefulness.  And  though  the  immediate  benefit 
be  exclusively  to  members  of  the  Society,  the  remote  ad- 
vantages have  been  widely  diffusive  through  many  of  the 
States  of  the  Union,  not  only  from  the  number  of  edu- 
cated citizens  sent  forth  to  mix  as  active  members  of  the 
community,  but  by  multiplying  good  teachers  to  spread 
largely  the  benefits  of  education.  How  much  the  Society 
of  Friends  have  thus  been  the  benefactors  of  the  country 
it  would  be  difficult  to  over-estimate,  and  it  is  a  stream 
of  beneficence  that  flows  in  perpetuity. 

It  was  during  the  superintendence  of  Philip  and 
Rachel  Price,  that  some  of  the  local  improvements  of  the 
property  were  commenced,  that  have  been  since  greatly 
advanced  in  the  laying  out  of  walks  and  planting  of  trees, 
now  become  groves  of  ample  size,  for  shade  and  scenery ; 
in  keeping  with  the  beautiful  and  varied  landscapes  that 
surround  this  quiet  retreat  of  learning.    But  it  was  the 


RELIGIOUS  JOURNEY.  37 

moral  and  religious  government  of  the  household,  com- 
posed of  teachers,  caretakers,  assistants,  and  pupils,  in 
which  their  usefulness  was  chiefly  conspicuous.  It  was 
in  consonance  with  the  views  of  the  Society  and  with 
their  own  characters — mild,  considerate,  and  parental. 
All  found  there  the  best  comfort  and  solace  in  their 
separation  from  parents  and  home — affectionate  and  sym- 
pathizing protectors  and  friends ;  and  departing  thence, 
they  carried  with  them  into  the  world  an  affectionate  re- 
membrance to  be  retained  through  life.  It  thus  occurred, 
from  this  long  superintendence  of  West-Town,  and  after- 
wards of  their  own  school  at  West  Chester,  that  few 
persons  have  become  the  object  of  affectionate  attachment 
and  personal  regard  to  so  many  individuals. 

In  the  7th  month,  1801,  Rachel  Price  joined  Sarah 
Newlin  in  a  visit  to  the  meetings  and  families  of  Friends 
in  the  Southern  Quarter,  in  Delaware  and  the  Eastern 
Shore  of  Maryland.  Discouragement  attended  her  out- 
set. "  My  mind  was  very  much  tried  and  borne  down 
with  the  prospect  of  being  so  long  separated  from  thee 
and  our  dear  children,  and  remained  so  until  I  came  to 
Duck  Creek  Meeting,  where  I  felt  almost  ready  to  shrink 
and  turn  about  homewards,  when  this  language  was  lov- 
ingly presented  to  my  mind — £  Thy  Maker  shall  be  thy 
husband' — which  proved  a  real  consolation  to  my  poor 
lost  mind.  Oh,  may  it  be  my  greatest  concern  to  endea- 
vour to  keep  low,  and  experience  my  own  will  brought 
4 


38  RELIGIOUS  JOURNEY. 

into  subjection,  and  thereby  experience  His  divine  pre- 
sence to  be  near,  for  verily  without  Him  we  can  do 
nothing  as  we  ought  to  do,  and  mayest  thou  find  Him  to 
be  thy  support  and  stay  in  my  absence,  and  may  His  holy 
arm  be  round  about  and  preserve  our  tender  offspring 
from  harm."  And  of  later  date,  "  The  thought  of  being 
detained  so  long  from  home  seemed  almost  more  than  my 
nature  could  bear,  *  *  yet  I  believe  that  there  is  no 
cause  of  dismay,  as  the  service  seems  to  be  owned  by  the 
Master."  "  My  dear  children,  you  may  be  ready  to  con- 
clude that  my  love  for  you  is  not  very  great,  or  I  could 
not  leave  you  so  long :  but  let  me  tell  you  that  I  never 
felt  the  tender  ties  of  nature  more  forcibly,  than  since  my 
absence  from  you.  How  often  has  my  mind  been  raised 
in  secret  supplication  to  the  Father  and  Fountain  of  all 
our  blessings,  that  He  may  be  pleased  to  preserve  you  as 
in  the  hollow  of  his  Divine  hand ;  yea,  oftener  than  the 
returning  morning."  And  again — "Although  I  feel 
very  much  tried  at  times  on  account  of  my  being  so  long 
separated  from  my  endeared  connexions,  whom  I  feel  in- 
creasingly dear  to  me  in  my  absence,  yet  am  I  favoured 
to  experience  my  mind  so  strengthened  and  supported 
through  the  various  dispensations  I  have  had  to  pass 
through,  as  to  induce  me  to  believe  that  I  am  in  my  place 
in  thus  giving  up.  Although  we  feel  ourselves  poor 
weak  things,  to  be  thus  engaged  and  often  have  to  go 
down  unto  suffering,  as  I  believe,  with  the  seed,  which 


RELIGIOUS  JOURNEY. 


o9 


lies  low  and  oppressed  in  many  minds,  yet  we  find  a 
little  remnant  in  every  place,  which  our  hearts  can  unite 
with  and  encourage.  Although  weakness  is  often  our 
portion,  yet  blessed  be  that  Holy  Arm  of  Power  which 
we  have  found  to  be  near  for  our  help  in  the  needful  time 
of  trial* 

She  received  in  response  from  her  husband  this  encou- 
ragement: — "  Although  thy  company  thee  knows  would 
be  very  desirable  at  home,  I  hope  thou  wilt  be  favoured 
to  be  easy  about  us  until  thy  mind  is  at  full  liberty  to 
return  with  peace.  I  have  been  so  far  much  preserved 
in  the  patience,  beyond  what  I  expected,  and  I  hope  I 
shall  be  favoured  so  to  continue  until  the  right  time  for 
thee  to  return. "  ***.«<  Let  us  be  content  to  drink  the 
cup  that  is  allotted  us,  if  we  are  persuaded  it  is  the 
Will  of  the  Great  Master,  however  trying,  as  the  alone 
way  to  peace  of  mind.  I  hope  thou  art  faithfully  given 
up  to  do  thy  part  of  the  work,  not  looking  too  much  at 
thy  own  littleness,  remembering  that  from  those  that  had 
not  great  offerings  to  make,  a  turtle  dove  or  young  pig$  ns 
were  accepted."  Similar  encouragement  is  repeated  in 
later  letters.  u  Having  set  thy  hand  to  the  work  it  will 
not  do  to  look  back,  otherwise  thou  wilt  lose  the  reward 
which  I  believe  those  are  favoured  to  experience  who  are 
faithfully  given  up  to  do  in  true  sincerity  of  heart.  The 
work  in  which  you  are  engaged,  I  have  no  doubt,  is  great 
and  arduous,  and  thou  art  often  looking  to  thy  own  weak- 


40 


MINISTERS  AND  ELDERS. 


ness  and  inability,  but  I  trust  that  He  that  has  required 
this  at  your  hands  will  preserve  and  carry  you  through 
every  trial  and  discouraging  prospect.  *  *  Then,  I 
trust,  thy  peace  will  flow  as  a  river,  and  His  living  pre- 
sence be  felt  to  dispel  the  gloomy  clouds  which  have  often 
gathered  and  been  ready  to  break  over  thy  head,  and  over- 
whelm as  in  the  deep."  Further  letters  acknowledged 
the  kindness  of  Friends  visited,  and  that  the  service  of 
the  travellers  "was  all  to  pretty  good  satisfaction," 
"  strength  being  mercifully  given  to  relieve  their  minds." 

Sarah  Newlin  returned  home  apparently  well,  but  with 
the  seeds  of  disease  in  her  system,  as  on  the  day  after 
her  arrival  she  was  attacked  with  bilious  fever.  Our 
parents  hastened  to  her,  found  her  in  a  sweet  and  sub- 
missive state  of  mind  :  she  declared  her  work  was  done, 
and  after  severe  bodily  suffering,  within  a  week  of  her 
return,  her  life  fell  a  sacrifice  to  her  devotion  in  the  ser- 
vice of  her  Creator. 

It  was  about  the  year  1792,  that  Rachel  Price  first 
appeared  in  the  ministry.  After  a  period  of  probation 
her  service  was  approved ;  and  some  notes  left  by  her 
manifest  the  feelings  that  accompanied  the  event.  "  My 
friends  of  the  Monthly  Meeting  of  Concord  thought  it 
right  to  acknowledge  and  recommend  me  to  the  Quarterly 
Meeting  of  Ministers  and  Elders,  as  an  approved  minis- 
ter. A  minute  to  that  effect  was  furnished  the  Select 
Quarterly  Meeting,  in  the  4th  month,  1802.    I  attended 


MINISTERS  AND  ELDERS.  41 

that  meeting  in  the  5th  month,  when  the  language  of  en- 
couragement was  handed  forth  by  our  valuable  friend 
Eli  Yarnall,  in  his  usually  impressive  and  affectionate 
manner.  I  considered  it  a  privilege  to  be  permitted  to 
sit  with  those  to  whom  I  felt  so  nearly  united,  and  to 
become  associated  with  and  placed  more  particularly  un- 
der their  care :  but  I  found  my  exercise  and  concern  not 
diminished  thereby,  nor  my  ability  increased, — neither 
were  my  besetments  lessened,  by  becoming  incorporated 
with  such  valuable  companions.  After  attending  several 
meetings  of  the  kind,  and  feeling  rather  disappointed,  as 
I  supposed  if  all  were  as  good  as  I  thought  we  ought  to 
be  before  we  were  admitted  to  the  Select  Meeting,  we 
might  expect  these  to  be  Heavenly  Communions  without 
earthly  interruptions, — and  querying  in  my  own  mind 
why  these  meetings  were  sometimes  so  lifeless,  even  more 
so  than  the  large  mixed  assemblies,  Samuel  Smith,  of 
Philadelphia,  arose  and  spoke  very  interestingly.  He 
said, — '  We  are  informed  in  the  Book  of  Job,  that  when 
the  sons  of  God  came  to  present  themselves  before  the 
Lord,  Satan  came  also  among  them ;  and  he  believed  there 
was  not  a  station  or  situation  that  a  man  can  attain  unto 
in  this  life,  beyond  the  assaults  of  the  enemy  of  our 
souls'  salvation;  hence  the  necessity  of  the  sacred  in- 
junction to  all  to  watch  and  pray  lest  ye  enter  into 
temptation  :  that  it  is  no  sin  to  be  tempted,  but  it  is  by 
obedience  to  temptation  that  we  commit  sin/  He  ap- 
4* 


42 


MINISTERS  AND  ELDERS. 


prehended  there  might  be  present  individuals  who  had 
not  been  long  admitted  to  that  meeting,  and  might  have 
expected  there  would  be  but  little  to  interrupt  the  wor- 
ship in  spirit  and  in  truth.  He  thought  it  was  in  the 
ordering  of  Best  Wisdom,  if  it  was  often  permitted  to  be 
otherwise,  that  we  might  feel  our  own  weakness  and  de- 
pendence j  that  of  ourselves  we  can  do  nothing  to  ad- 
vance the  cause  of  righteousness  on  the  earth ;  that  no 
flesh  might  glory  in  its  own  perfection,  but  that  we  might 
lie  low  in  the  abasement  of  self,  so  that  He,  whose  right 
it  is  to  rule  and  reign  in  our  hearts,  may  direct  according 
to  his  pleasure.  If  we  who  compose  this  part  of  the 
Society,  were  permitted  generally  to  partake  of  the  effu- 
sions of  Divine  love  and  regard,  we  might  be  induced 
to  think  that  we  had  attained  a  higher  state  of  perfection 
than  our  fellow  members,  and  thereby  become  exalted  in 
our  own  imaginations,  ascribing  that  to  the  creature  which 
only  and  alone  belongeth  to  the  Creator.  This  communi- 
cation was  very  instructive  and  interesting  to  my  inexpe- 
rienced mind  at  the  time,  and  strengthening  when  recurred 
to  since.  The  substance  yet  remains  fresh  upon  my 
memory  (at  the  age  of  seventy),  and  I  am  willing  to  put 
it  upon  record  and  leave  it,  hoping  that  it  may  afford 
some  comfort  to  some  tried  and  discouraged  minds  when 
I  am  gone." 

For  some  weeks  in  1802,  Philip  Price  travelled  with 
Richard  Mott,  of  New  York,  visiting  the  meetings  of 


RELIGIOUS  JOURNEY  EAST. 


13 


Friends  in  the  south-eastern  counties  of  Pennsylvania. 
The  services  of  this  ministering  Friend  are  described  as 
having  been  very  close  upon  the  unfaithful,  in  instances 
producing  deep  contrition,  but  unproductive  of  full  relief 
to  the  mind  of  the  faithful  labourer,  who  apprehended  he 
had  passed  by  some  meetings  that  he  should  have  taken 
in  his  course.  During  this  and  other  absences  of  her 
husband,  Rachel  Price  directed  the  business  of  the  house- 
hold and  farm  with  judgment,  and  was  concerned  to 
attend  the  meetings  with  the  children,  taking  with  her 
"seven  or  eight  of  them/'  a  distance  of  two  miles  to 
Birmingham. 

During  the  spring  of  1804,  Sarah  Talbot  and  Rachel 
Price  made  a  religious  visit  among  Friends  in  Middle  and 
East  New  Jersey.  Leaving  Philadelphia  under  discou- 
ragement, the  latter  wrote,  "  With  health  not  very  good, 
yet  my  mind  enjoys  such  a  comfortable  degree  of  quietude 
in  the  belief  that  I  am  in  the  way  of  my  duty,  that  I 
have  scarce  language  to  describe  the  different  feelings  of 
my  mind  now."  *  *  "  We  are  permitted  sometimes 
to  partake  as  it  were  of  a  brook  by  the  way-side,  whereby 
we  are  encouraged  to  move  forward  in  the  ability  received, 
to  the  relief  of  our  own  minds."  In  the  spring  of  1805, 
they  continued  their  travels  together  among  Friends  of 
South  or  West  New  Jersey  :  At  Salem,  met  with  John 
Simpson,  Thomas  Scattergood,  "  and  many  other  precious 
Friends.    I  felt  myself  a  poor  thing  amongst  them,  as 


41 


RELIGIOUS  JOURNEY  EAST. 


thou  mayest  suppose,  yet  am  favoured  at  times  from  a 
degree  of  experience  to  acknowledge  that  in  His  presence 
there  is  life,  and  at  His  right  hand  there  are  rivers  of 
pleasure  forevermore."  ""We  have  been  at  meeting  every 
day  but  one  since  we  left  home.  Surely,  some  may  say, 
we  might  be  very  good  by  this  time,  if  going  to  meeting 
would  make  us  so ;  but  if  we  are  but  made  sensible  from 
time  to  time,  that  we  are  in  the  way  of  Divine  appoint- 
ment, and  suffered  to  partake  of  even  the  fragments  of 
the  true  bread,  after  witnessing  it  to  be  broken  amongst 
us,  so  that  we  may  know  that  we  do  indeed  live,  I  believe 
we  shall  be  satisfied."  At  Egg-Harbour,  R.  Price  pro- 
bably first  saw  the  ocean,  with  the  lively  sensibility  and 
reverential  emotion  with  which  the  great  works  of  the 
Creator  ever  impressed  her  sensitive  mind.  "  I  am  seated 
at  the  window,  delighted  with  beholding  the  waves  of  the 
sea  continually  rolling,  wave  after  wave,  and  breaking  on 
the  shore.  Oh,  how  awfully  majestic, — how  great  the 
power,  that  hath  set  bounds  even  to  the  sea,  and  said 
1  thus  far  shalt  thou  go  and  no  farther  :  There  shall  thy 
proud  waves  be  stayed.'  He  hath  placed  the  sand  for  the 
bound  of  the  sea,  by  a  perpetual  decree,  that  it  cannot 
pass  it ;  and  though  the  waves  thereof  toss  themselves, 
yet  can  they  not  prevail  j  though  they  roar,  yet  can  they 
not  pass  over  it." 

The  journey  was  pursued  to  satisfaction,  but  under 
circumstances  of  trial  and  discouragement  to  the  partner 


RELIGIOUS  JOURNEY  EAST.  45 

left  at  home.  She  writes,  "  I  have  found  my  mind  very 
much  resigned  to  my  present  allotment,  whether  in 
heights  or  in  depths,  so  that  I  am  but  made  sensible  that 
I  am  in  my  place,  and  through  Divine  favour  I  may  say 
(I  trust  without  boasting)  that  I  have  from  time  to  time 
felt  the  reward  of  sweet  peace,  which  is  all  I  crave  for 
myself,  hoping  that  thou  wilt  be  made  a  partaker  of  a 
large  share  in  thus  giving  me  up."  He,  under  the  be- 
setting trials,  exclaims, — "  Oh  !  patience  and  resignation 
to  Divine  allotments,  how  much  do  I  still  want  of  their 
influence  to  bring  all  into  subjection,  and  be  able  to  say, 
'  not  my  will,  but  Thine  be  done  in  all  things  !'  and  to  bear 
crosses  and  adversity  with  the  same  calmness  and  fortitude 
as  if  all  prospered,  and  was  to  our  outward  desires.  Per- 
haps it  is  best  for  me  to  feel  the  hand  of  adversity  and  dis- 
appointment, lest  I  should  grow  forgetful  and  lose  the  sense 
of  a  grateful  mind  for  the  favours  that  are  enjoyed." 
And  again, — "I  believe  I  have  felt  thee  to  be  as  near 
and  precious  to  my  life  as  at  any  time  of  it ;  indeed,  our 
separation,  I  think,  has  felt  more  trying.  I  have  been 
almost  afraid  to  put  my  pen  to  paper  to  communicate 
with  thee,  lest  I  might  imprudently  drop  something  that 
might  do  more  harm  than  hearing  from  us  would  give 
comfort,  as  it  has  not  been  my  allotment  to  be  much  re- 
freshed with  the  stream  of  consolation  since  thy  absence : 
but  enough,  lest  I  now  commit  the  error  I  have  been 
afraid  of." 


4(3 


HOME  REMINISCENCES. 


An  interval  occurs  in  the  preserved  correspondence  un- 
til the  year  1807,  when  the  next  journey  in  a  religious 
service,  was  undertaken.  The  recollections  of  the  writer, 
though  then  young,  extend  back  to  this  period.  He  was 
then  and  for  some  years  after,  in  conformity  with  the 
practice  of  making  all  the  children  actively  useful,  assist- 
ing in  the  business  of  the  farm.  Though  frequently 
taken  from  home  by  the  calls  of  the  Society  of  Friends, 
meeting  the  School  Committee,  &c,  yet  upon  all  urgent 
occasions,  and  in  matters  requiring  skill  and  judgment, 
Philip  Price  was  an  important  workman  on  his  plantation. 
With  his  own  hand  he  sowed  the  grain,  the  grass  seeds,  and 
plaster, — struck  the  furrow  for  planting  and  drilling ; 
ploughed  and  harrowed  the  corn  j  and  pitched  the  hay 
and  grain  sheaves  at  harvest,  with  an  elasticity  of  muscle 
and  endurance  of  fatigue  that  few  could  equal.  He  was 
a  practical  farmer,  of  efficient  energy,  and  sound  judg- 
ment, skilled  in  the  choice  and  management  of  stock; 
and  an  experienced  grazier  lately  told  the  writer  that  he 
had  received  from  him  his  first  and  best  lessons  in  the 
selection  of  cattle.  He  had  a  capacity  to  make  riches, 
but  he  preferred  to  educate  his  numerous  family ;  to  fulfil 
the  higher  duties  he  believed  he  owed  to  his  Creator ;  and 
to  keep  the  tempting  cares  and  ambition  of  the  world 
beneath  his  feet. 

It  was  about  this  period,  that  P.  Price,  with  one  of  his 
daughters,  made  a  journey  into  Virginia,  to  procure  the 


HOME  REMINISCENCES.  47 

seed  of  the  Virginia  thorn.  These  were  the  commence- 
ment of  the  beautiful  thorn  hedges  that  have  since  so 
much  prevailed  on  and  in  the  neighbourhood  of  his  farms, 
dividing  the  rolling  country  of  the  Brandywine  hills  into 
fields  of  luxuriant  grass  or  waving  grain,  which  when 
ripening  for  the  harvest,  make  a  striking  contrast  with 
the  green  and  neatly  trimmed  borders.  The  view  of  this 
scene  from  Osborn's  hill,  or  similar  elevations,  can  never 
fail  to  inspire  a  sentiment  of  love  for  our  commonwealth, 
its  happy  and  prosperous  people, — and  of  gratitude  to 
the  bountiful  Creator,  who  has  spread  plenty  over  the 
land  and  clothed  it  in  surpassing  beauty. 

In  order  to  keep  the  farm  free  from  weeds,  it  was  a 
constant  practice  of  Philip  Price,  to  pull  up  the  docks, 
mulleins,  cockle,  thistles,  &c,  by  the  roots,  before  the  seed 
ripened  for  a  new  growth  j  and  it  was  a  rule  with  him 
not  to  pass  by  such  a  weed  without  eradicating  it,  where- 
by the  task  was  lessened  each  year,  and  the  plantation 
freed  from  such  mischievous  intrusion  j  and  for  a  like 
reason  the  parental  care  of  both  father  and  mother,  was 
constantly  watchful  to  eradicate  all  noxious  weeds  as  they 
appeared  to  take  growth  in  the  minds  of  their  children, 
before  they  got  firm  root,  or  went  to  seed  for  a  new  crop, 
and  to  sow  good  seed  in  their  stead,  and  nourish  the 
growth  of  good  plants,  to  keep  under  those  of  a  delete- 
rious nature,  and  by  the  like  continued  watchfulness  and 


48  HOME  REMINISCENCES. 

care  the  task  came  to  be  less  needed  on  the  part  of  the 
religiously  concerned  parents. 

The  household  arrangements  were  upon  the  footing  of  a 
republican  simplicity.  The  best  of  plain  food  was  pro- 
vided for  all,  and  ordinarily  all,  employers  and  employed, 
sat  down  to  the  same  table :  nor  was  there  any  loss  of 
respect  sustained  by  this  equality  of  treatment ;  but  on 
the  contrary,  a  salutary  influence,  and  parental  constraint, 
conducive  to  discipline  and  order,  not  repulsive  to  inno- 
cent cheerfulness,  were  accompanied  by  a  feeling  and 
confidence  that  the  welfare  of  all  was  cared  for  and  pro- 
tected. 

No  spirituous  liquor  was  used  on  the  farm,  though  the 
practice  prevailed  among  others  than  Friends.  In  the 
cause  of  temperance,  peace  principles,  and  anti-slavery, 
the  Friends  had  effectually  done  their  work,  wisely  and 
prudently,  generations  before  the  modern  zeal  displayed 
upon  these  subjects;  and  all  true  Friends  then,  before, 
and  ever  since,  have  availed  themselves  of  all  suitable 
opportunities  to  advance  their  humane  testimonies  on 
these  subjects,  upon  those  in  authority  and  among  the 
people.  Their  progress  was  steady — carried  forward  by 
the  process  of  persuasion  and  conviction — and  sustained 
by  the  power  of  consistent  example.  It,  therefore,  knew 
no  relapse  or  reaction,  as  occurs  when  partisan  zeal  be- 
comes cooled,  and  excitement  subsides.  Their  testimonies 
upon  these  subjects  of  human  reform,  Friends  are  bound 


FUGITIVE  SLAVES. 


49 


by  their  Discipline  to  ever  uphold  and  maintain,  and  so 
long  as  they  shall  remain  true  Friends,  must  they  carry 
on  the  good  works,  faithfully,  consistently,  and  steadily, 
not  only  to  preserve  themselves  free  from  taint  and  in- 
firmity, but  to  be  the  perpetual  warners  and  reformers  of 
mankind.  May  they  ever  persevere  in  their  good  and 
glorious  mission  in  the  way  that  they  have  so  long  per- 
severed, having  made  their  lesson  effective  by  beginning 
at  home,  and  then  presenting  their  example  to  enforce 
their  reasonings  and  persuasions.  It  is  true  this  practice 
may  not  produce  sudden  demonstrations  of  success,  but  it 
more  than  compensates  by  its  mildness,  constancy,  and 
endurance,  and  it  is  the  course  most  consistent  with  the 
character  of  Friends,  because  in  their  conduct  and  teach- 
ing they^re  ever  bound  to  exercise  that  wisdom  which  is 
peaceful  and  long-suffering,  temperate,  kind,  and  charita- 
ble. The  first  example  to  mankind  of  admonition  and 
judgment,  was  not  hasty  or  violent,  but  the  voice  of  the 
Lord  was  heard  as  he  walked  u  in  the  garden  in  the  cool 
of  the  day" — and  it  was  without  any  sharp  accusation, 
woundingly  to  produce  rebellious  recoil. 

Among  the  reminiscences  of  the  plantation,  is  the  fact 
of  the  frequent  visits  and  sojourns  there  of  coloured  peo- 
ple, in  fear  and  distress,  fleeing  in  pursuit  of  liberty. 
They  ever  found  there  shelter,  sympathy  and  aid,  those 
claims  of  humanity  which,  though  it  might  be  penal  to 
recognise,  no  true  Friends  could  deny.  Slavery,  origi- 
5 


50 


FUGITIVE  SLAVES. 


nating  in  the  captivity  of  war,  fraud,  or  oppression, 
could  in  their  view  gain  no  valid  sanction  by  lapse  of  time 
or  the  authority  of  human  law,  when  thus  based  on  error 
and  injustice.  Yet  neither  by  sentiment  nor  deed  would 
they  countenance  any  act  to  weaken  the  general  authority 
of  established  government,  on  which  the  security  of  so 
many  invaluable  rights  of  person,  property,  and  reputa- 
tion depend.  Wm,  Penn  recognised  it  as  a  great  end  of 
government  "to  support  power  in  reverence  with  the  peo- 
ple, and  to  secure  the  people  from  the  abuse  of  power." 
Our  civil  institutions  are  habitually  recognised  by  the 
Society  as  excellent,  and  deserving  their  respect  and  obe- 
dience, and  where  they  cannot  conscientiously  acquiesce 
in  the  requisitions  of  laws  that  conflict  with  their  testi- 
monies, they  patiently  submit  to  the  penalty,  thus  bear- 
ing a  willing  testimony  to  principle  through  sacrifice, -in 
the  hope  that  the  world  may  be  awakened  to  see  and 
correct  all  errors  that  lead  to  wrong  and  oppression. 
They  are  the  peaceful  champions  of  the  world's  reform, 
believing  that  as  truth  and  righteousness  are  mighty, 
they  will,  as  the  world  becomes  enlightened,  prevail.  No 
people  so  peaceful  and  conservative  can  fail  to  value 
highly  the  constitution  that  secures  the  Union  of  the 
States,  and  thereby  preserves  the  domestic  tranquillity 
and  the  peace  with  foreign  powers;  a  constitution  in 
which  all  the  citizens  find  their  safest  anchorage  for  all 
vested  rights  and  title  to  property,  in  the  prohibition  of 


TESTIMONY  AGAINST  SLAVERY.  51 


all  state  laws  that  can  impair  the  obligation  of  contracts. 
It  tolerates,  it  is  true,  an  evil  it  could  not  consistently 
name,  but  it  was  the  best  that  could,  under  the  circum- 
stances, be  formed.  Its  framers  were  under  a  compulsion 
so  to  form  it  as  to  obtain  the  consent  of  independent 
slave-holding  states,  or  to  abandon  the  task.  The  alter- 
natives were  disunion,  and  border  wars,  insecurity,  weak- 
ness, and  the  final  extinction  of  republican  freedom  j 
and  Union,  with  peace,  prosperity,  strength,  and  the  per- 
petuity of  the  great  example  of  free  institutions,  and 
man's  power  of  self-government,  on  the  basis  of  the 
greatest  good  of  the  greatest  number. 

The  uncompromising  hostility  of  Friends  to  slavery,  is 
not  factious,  violent,  or  abusive ;  but,  proceeding  from  a 
deep  religious  and  moral  conviction  of  its  injustice  and 
impolicy,  their  opposition  is  based  upon  an  established 
testimony,  from  the  support  of  which  they  cannot  swerve 
so  long  as  Quakerism  shall  endure.  It  is  a  hostility  that 
is  patient,  resolute,  and  candid,  and  speaking  in  behalf 
of  humanity,  it  is  only  fearful  of  doing  aught  to  mar  the 
progress  of  a  good  work.  Pacific  in  principle,  they  can 
excite  to  no  violence;  Christian  in  practice,  the  sword 
must  be  sheathed;  and  as  the  fetters  are  imposed  by 
masters  who  only  can  repeal  the  law,  that  authorize  their 
infliction,  the  appeal  must  be  made  to  the  public  opinion 
of  the  states  which  tolerate  slavery.  That  opinion  can- 
not be  favourably  reached  by  abuse  and  denunciation,  or 


52  TESTIMONY  AGAINST  SLAVERY. 

by  any  method  that  will  arouse  the  passions,  disturb  the 
reason,  and  array  the  feelings  in  hostile  reaction.  The 
legislator,  exercising  the  prerogative  of  sovereignty, 
must  be  reasoned  with,  to  convince  his  reason,  and  his 
passions  tranquillized,  that  he  may  listen  to  the  voice  of 
humanity  within  his  own  breast.  Nearly  a  hundred 
years  ago,  John  Woolman,  in  his  tenderly  conscientious 
and  beautiful  writings — [often,  and  on  his  death-bed,  re- 
commended by  Philip  Price  to  the  perusal  of  his  child- 
ren] afforded  the  best  example  of  effective  writing  upon 
this  subject ;  and  he  published  in  the  midst  of  slave- 
holders without  offence,  because  he  calmly  addressed  that 
reason  and  humanity,  the  possession  of  which  no  civilized 
men  dare  to  disclaim.  Friends  have,  accordingly,  at  all 
times  kept  the  door  open  for  friendly  entreaty  and  the 
convincement  of  the  masters ;  have  securely  performed  reli- 
gious visits  to  the  South,  and  held  meetings  with  the 
slaves  for  religious  worship  -}  but  no  clandestine  conduct 
hostile  to  legal  claims  was  ever  practised  there  by  mem- 
bers of  good  repute  in  the  Society.  To  the  slaves  they 
preached  the  patient  and  peaceful  religion  of  the  Gospel ; 
to  the  masters  the  obligation  of  kindness  and  mercy,  and 
the  duty  of  doing  unto  others  as  they  would  have  others  to 
do  unto  themselves.  But  it  would  be  to  expect  quite  too 
much  to  believe  that  any  true  Friends  should  in  any  man- 
ner aid  in  the  restoration  of  fugitive  slaves,  or  that  they 
would  not  afford  them  comfort  and  facility  in  their  flight. 


ABOLITION  OF  SLAVERY.  53 

Regarding  them  as  fellow  beings  and  co-heirs  of  immor- 
tality, they  admit  the  obligation  towards  them  to  do  unto 
them  as  under  like  circumstances  they  would  be  done 
unto,  and  thus  yield  obedience  at  the  same  time  to  the 
Christian  and  Mosaic  Law,  the  latter  declaring  that — 
"  thou  shalt  not  deliver  unto  his  master  the  servant  which 
has  escaped  from  his  master  unto  thee."  But  if  the 
master  come  and  take  his  servant,  they  can  offer  no 
resistance. 

The  example  and  influence  of  Friends,  aided  by  the  co- 
operation of  a  Franklin,  Morris,  Rush,  Peters,  Rawle, 
and  other  philanthropists,  led  to  the  abolition  of  slavery 
in  Pennsylvania,  and  the  subsequent  protection  of  those 
unlawfully  held  in  bondage.  It  was  in  the  midst  of  the 
American  revolution  that  the  people  became  awakened  to 
a  sympathy  for  others'  woes  by  their  own  sufferings,  and 
on  the  1st  of  March,  1780,  was  passed  a  statute  the  most 
just,  and  the  preamble  the  most  responsive  to  the  voice 
of  humanity,  of  any  before  placed  on  the  statute  book 
of  any  nation.  Reciting  their  grateful  sense  of  the  aid 
of  the  Divine  Being  in  the  national  struggle  for  liberty, 
the  patriots  of  the  revolution  conceived  it  to  be  their  duty, 
and  rejoiced  that  it  was  in  their  power,  "to  extend  a  por- 
tion of  that  freedom  to  others,  which  had  been  extended 
to  them  j"  and  feeling  their  "  hearts  enlarged  with  kind- 
ness and  benevolence  towards  men  of  all  conditions  and 
nations" — enacted  that  slaves  should  be  for  ever  released 
5* 


54  RELIGIOUS  JOURNEY  "WEST. 

from  thraldom  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  It  was  a 
peaceful,  patient,  earnest,  yet  wise  perseverance  that  led 
to  so  happy  a  result,  and  placed  upon  the  statute  book  its 
most  luminous  pages.  May  the  same  wise  counsels,  paci- 
fic and  humane  spirit,  ever  continue  to  plead  the  cause  of 
the  oppressed,  and  lead  to  further  triumphs  of  humanity, 
— pacific,  bloodless,  and  glorious ! 

In  the  6th  month,  1807,  Mary  Witchel,  a  friend  from 
Bradford,  England,  and  Kachel  Price,  started  on  a  reli- 
gious visit  to  Friends  in  Ohio  and  Virginia.  No  turnpike 
had  then  been  made  across  the  Allegheny  Mountains,  and 
the  narrow  and  steep  wagon  track,  in  soft  places,  was  cut 
into  deep  ruts,  and  in  others  was  rough  and  stony.  The 
women  Friends  in  crossing  the  mountains  were  obliged  to 
dismount  from  the  carriage  and  walk,  or  ride  alternately 
the  single  riding-horse,  on  a  man's  saddle,  going  at  the 
rate  of  two  miles  an  hour.  Rachel  Price  writes,  "I 
think  it  is  not  possible  for  any  one  to  conceive  how  bad 
the  roads  are,  without  seeing  them.  TYe  are  preserved  in 
good  health,  and  our  minds  from  sinking.  My  mind  when 
crossing  the  mountains  was  filled  with  admiration  and 
praise  in  beholding  the  wondrous  works  of  an  Almighty 
hand."  *  *  "  In  our  preservation  we  have  had  often 
to  exclaim,  Surely  these  are  the  Lord's  doings,  and  mar- 
vellous in  our  eyes.  May  a  grateful  sense  thereof  rest 
on  each  of  our  minds,  to  our  own  humiliation."  "  "When 
we  left  Pitt  we  pursued  our  journey  along  the  bank  of  the 


RELIGIOUS  JOURNEY  WEST.  55 

Ohio,  the  beautiful  river  on  the  left,  and  on  the  right  a 
mountain,  with  rocks  overhanging  our  heads,  awfully 
majestic  to  behold.    TTe  may  say  with  the  poet, — 

'  These  are  thy  glorious  works,  Parent  of  good, 

Almighty  !  Thine  this  universal  frame, 

Thus  wondrous  fair :  Thyself  how  wondrous  then  ; 

Unspeakable,  who  sitt'st  above  these  heavens 

To  us  invisible,  or  dimly  seen 

In  these  thy  lowest  works ;  yet  these  declare 

Thy  goodness  beyond  thought,  and  power  divine.'  " 

At  Xew  Garden  she  writes,  MWe  attended  Springfield 
yesterday.  There  is  a  valuable  settlement  of  Friends 
here  in  this  wilderness  country,  whom  we  feel  nearly 
united  to ;  and  I  may  tell  thee  that  I  fully  believe  that  I 
am  in  my  place  in  coming  here.  Though  trying  to  be 
separated  from  you  at  home,  yet  I  feel  very  comfortable 
in  being  with  our  friends  here  in  little  cabins. "  At 
Short  Creek — "I  received  thy  first  and  second  letters;  it 
was  a  feast  indeed,  to  get  so  much  satisfactory  informa- 
tion ;  but  I  have  been  for  the  most  part  easier  about  home 
than  I  could  have  expected,  having  so  fully  given  all  up 
to  Best  Protection  and  Direction,  that  I  sometimes  can 
but  wonder  that  my. mind  is  so  relieved  from  anxiety 
about  you.  I  am  truly  thankful  you  have  been  so  pre- 
served, and  may  we  all  put  our  trust  in  that  preserving 
Arm  of  Power,  whose  care  is  even  for  the  sparrow/'  "  I 
have  met  with  many  choice  friends  and  relations  since  T 


56  RELIGIOUS  JOURNEY  WEST. 

left  home,  to  whom  I  feel  nearly  and  dearly  united,  I 
trust  in  gospel  fellowship."  A  P.  S.  to  this  letter  re- 
minds us  of  a  constant  habit  of  the  writer  of  it  which 
many  will  recollect,  so  that  at  home  or  abroad,  no  time 
should  be  lost :  "  If  you  have  not  sent  the  yarn,  you  need 
not  send  it  till  you  may  expect  we  are  in  Virginia,  as  I 
do  not  knit  fast."  She  would  have  had  more  than  the 
sublime  regret  of  the  Emperor  Titus,  which  has  made 
him  immortal;; — "  that  he  had  lost  a  day."  She  would 
have  regretted  the  loss  of  an  hour  unfilled  by  some  useful 
employment. 

The  mails  then  were  slow,  "  three  weeks  from  Pitts- 
burgh." Four  weeks  had  elapsed,  and  no  letter  had 
reached  her  husband.  He  writes  21  of  6  mo.  "  My  dear 
love  :  Another  week  has  passed  without  hearing  any- 
thing from  thee,  whether  you  have  got  along  safely  or 
not.  I  did  not  think  I  should  feel  so  anxious  about 
hearing ;  but  the  expectations  thee  gave  of  writing  makes 
me  feel  desirous  to  hear  from  thee.  I  intended  to  think 
as  little  about  thee  as  possible,  as  I  was  in  hopes  it  might 
be  a  means  of  preserving  me  in  patience  during  thy  long 
absence,  and  no  doubt  trying  journey  in  many  respects ; 
but  I  think  it  has  been  so  far  to  the  contrary  that  I  can 
hardly  think  of  anything  besides.  And  how  can  it  be 
otherwise,  when  thou,  who  hast  been  my  companion  in 
the  nearest  unity  and  affection  for  so  many  years,  art  now 
so  far  separated  from  me  ?  but,  being  as  I  fully  believe 


RELIGIOUS  JOURNEY  WEST. 


57 


in  the  direction  of  Best  Wisdom,  I  must  not  complain 
nor  murmur.  And  I  think  I  have  resigned  thee,  and  do 
still,  to  Divine  disposal,  though  thou  art  the  object  of  my 
nearest  and  dearest  affection  of  all  earthly  enjoyments; 
yet  I  have  to  remember,  for  the  trial  of  my  faith  and  love, 
that  we  must  part  with  the  most  near  earthly  tie  if  re- 
quired ;  and  as  our  blessed  Lord  declared,  If  you  love 
anything  more  than  me  you  are  not  worthy  of  me.  But 
I  have  no  doubt,  my  dear  love,  thou  hast  also  thy  feelings 
and  exercises  about  us,  and  art  deeply  concerned  for  our 
welfare,  as  well  as  that  of  those  thou  art  engaged  to 
visit  in  Gospel  Love.  And  may  your  labours  prove  bene- 
ficial to  many,  in  strengthening  the  weak,  in  confirming 
the  feeble-minded,  and  in  alarming  such  as  live  too  un- 
concernedly about  that  part  which  will  endure  for  ever, 
either  in  happiness  or  in  misery  and  woe.  But  if  only 
one  should  be  rightly  awakened  and  warned  to  turn  from 
evil  ways,  and  thereby  become  converted  to  the  truth, 
your  labours  will  not  be  fruitless,  but  the  blessing  of 
Divine  approbation  and  peace  will  be  your  crowns,  if  you 
should  be  again  favoured  to  return."  Further  letters 
evince  the  same  anxious  desire  to  receive  information  from 
the  travellers — "  7  mo.  7,  I  have  had  more  uneasiness 
and  been  more  uncomfortable  than  at  any  time  since  thou 
left  us.  I  have  sent  up  to  West  Chester  regularly  every 
day  the  stage  returned,  for  two  weeks  past;"  that  was 
twice  a  week ;  now  there  are  three  arrivals  of  cars  and 


58 


RELIGIOUS  JOURNEY  WEST. 


stage  daily,  with  prospect  of  an  increase.  "  My  health 
has  been  improving,  and  I  have  now  to  work  hard,  which 
I  stand  better  than  I  expected."  "  Our  dear  children  are 
all  doing  well,  and  I  am  much  comforted  in  them,  as  the 
elder  ones  are  trying  to  do  the  best  they  can,  and  I  am 
afraid  they  are  almost  overdoing  the  matter  sometimes." 

From  Wheeling,  7  mo.  24,  R.  Price  writes,  "  We  have 
attended  all  the  meetings  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  except 
those  on  the  Miamies,  which  we  have  apprehended  our 
minds  released  from,  the  state  of  the  roads  having  made 
it  impracticable  to  reach  them."  "  We  have  taken  to  the 
wagon  again,  having  rode  on  horseback  through  the 
meetings,  and  I  have  had  my  health  much  better  than 
when  at  home."  "  After  attending  Plainfield  monthly 
meeting  *  *  we  have  felt  our  minds  released  from  the 
State  of  Ohio."  u  We  had  meetings  at  the  Courthouses 
in  St.  Clairsville  and  Wheeling."  u  These  were  indeed 
very  weighty  engagements,  yet  I  trust  they  were  in  the 
ordering  of  Best  Wisdom." 

After  visiting  Friends  at  and  about  "  Redstone,"  or 
Brownsville,  the  travellers  again  crossed  the  Allegheny 
Mountains,  into  Virginia.  After  visiting  a  number  of 
meetings  in  this  State,  and  holding  one  in  the  Treasury 
Department,  Washington,  and  others  in  Maryland,  they 
returned  home.  Their  faithful  and  cheerful  companion 
and  caretaker  on  this  journey  was  Samuel  Schofield,  of 
Abington,  Montgomery  county. 


RELIGIOUS  JOURNEY  SOUTH. 


59 


In  the  4th  month,  1809,  Sarah  Talbot  and  Rachel 
Price  believed  it  to  be  their  religious  duty  to  visit  Friends 
in  Virginia,  and  set  out  on  the  journey  accompanied  by 
Abel  Otley  as  their  caretaker.  They  attended  meetings 
through  Maryland,  reached  Fredericksburg,  Virginia, — 
"rode  down  the  James  river,  most  of  the  way  a  beautiful 
fertile  country,  which  was  very  pleasing,  after  travelling 
through  that  of  a  contrary  description  f  "  had  a  favoured 
meeting  at  Caroline another  at  Richmond,  and 
attended  the  yearly  meeting,  and  generally  the  meetings 
through  Eastern  Virginia,  wherever  they  could  find 
Friends.  Their  meetings  in  parts  were  "  few  and  far  be- 
tween," costing  great  fatigue  to  reach  them;  journeys 
which,  with  bad  roads  and  hot  weather,  caused  "  Jack" 
and  "  Hunter,"  favourite  and  well-remembered  horses  at 
home,  to  suffer,  although  friend  Abel  was  very  careful 
of  them ;  with  whom  they  say  "  we  get  along  in  much 
unity,  only  he  is  not  willing  to  move  quite  as  fast  some- 
times as  we  would  like,  but  we  don't  fall  out  about  it." 
Speaking  of  the  horses,  it  may  be  permitted  the  writer, 
who  has  a  grateful  and  lively  recollection  of  them,  to  pay 
a  tribute  of  respect  to  them  and  their  companions  then  at 
home,  and  say,  that  they  were  the  most  faithful  of  ser- 
vants,— doers  of  all  work, — seldom  idle,  and  employed 
alike  on  the  farm,  in  the  team,  in  social  visiting,  and  the 
more  serious  duty  of  going  to  meeting  and  carrying 
Friends  on  their  religious  journeys  )  and  who  were  never 


60  RELIGIOUS  JOURNEY  SOUTH. 

refused  by  their  owner  to  a  friend  or  relative,  though  the 
plough  was  left  thereby  to  stand  in  the  furrow. 

To  proceed  on  the  journey,  one  result  of  the  bad  roads 
was  that  "  the  wagon  overset,  down  a  hill,  in  a  steep 
place,  but  through  Divine  mercy  (the  narrator  says),  we 
were  preserved  from  receiving  much  hurt ;  I  believe  a 
grateful  sense  of  which  covered  each  of  our  minds/' 
"  Crossing  the  middle  and  north  branches  of  the  Shenan- 
doah— then  through  a  fertile  country  inhabited  mostly  by 
Germans,  with  the  Blue  Kidge  on  the  right  hand  full  in 
view,  the  river  winding  along  its  side,  on  the  left  the 
view  of  the  north  mountain  from  a  distance,  over  a  con- 
siderable valley  of  limestone  land,  the  road  being  in  many 
places  paved  by  nature  with  limestone  rocks,  often  on 
edge,  added  to  the  variety  of  the  scene,  but  not  much  to 
the  ease  of  the  traveller." 

The  religious  travail  and  exercise  on  this  journey  were 
both  hard  and  consolatory.  At  some  places  their  meetings 
were  attended  by  many  besides  Friends,  "  some  of  them 
perhaps  from  curiosity  to  hear  women  preach,  who  sat 
still,  were  attentive  and  serious,  and  it  may  be  said  Truth 
reigned  over  all."  Meetings  were  also  held  for  the 
blacks,  "  wherein  Best  Help  was  mercifully  found  to  be 
near,  I  believe  to  the  comforting  of  many  of  that  afflicted 
people."  "I  think  I  never  have  been  more  feelingly 
sensible  of  being  in  my  right  place,  and  that  I  am  about 
my  Heavenly  Father's  business,  which  makes  hard  things 


RELIGIOUS  JOURNEY  SOUTH.  61 

easier,  and  sweetens  the  bitter  cups  we  have  to  drink ; 
but  if  any  good  be  done,  let  it  be  ascribed  to  the  Great 
Author  of  all  good,  and  nothing  to  the  creature,  lest  by 
self  becoming  exalted,  I  be  in  danger,  while  calling  to 
others,  of  becoming  a  castaway  myself."  "  The  meetings 
for  discipline  were  favoured  seasons,  there  being  great 
openness  to  receive  counsel,  the  sincere-hearted  were 
encouraged,  the  weak  strengthened,  the  disobedient  and 
forgetful  warned,  and  the  dear  youth  invited  to  forsake 
the  vanities  and  delusive  pleasures  of  this  fading  world, 
and  to  close  in  with  the  gracious  offers  of  Divine  love, 
which  were  mercifully  extended  to  them.  I  hope  some 
of  them  yielded  to  its  holy  influence  so  far  as  to  form  reso- 
lutions to  take  up  their  cross  and  follow  the  dear  Master 
in  the  way  of  self-denial.  Oh,  may  it  not  pass  off  as  the 
morning  dew l"  Certain  meetings  of  Friends  "pain- 
fully exercising  my  mind,  I  was  almost  ready  to  sink 
under  discouragement.  The  fathers  and  mothers  in  too 
many  instances  being  too  much  buried  in  the  earth,  and 
many  of  the  young  people,  as  it  were,  flying  in  the  air. 
Poor  Virginia,  what  will  become  of  thee  !  If  it  were  not 
for  the  sake  of  a  few  righteous  souls  that  are,  I  trust,  in- 
terceding with  the  Father  of  mercies  in  the  behalf  of  the 
people,  the  judgments  that  seem  to  be  impending  would 
not  long  be  withheld.  I  have  had  such  impressions  as 
these  j  but  oh,  may  the  intercessions  of  those  be  availing, 

so  that  there  may  be  a  turning  from  darkness  unto  light, 
6 


62  RELIGIOUS  JOURNEY  SOUTH, 

and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  the  Lord.  Notwith- 
standing I  have  felt  so  much  tried,  I  have  also  been  thank- 
ful in  believing  that  there  is  a  remnant  in  almost  every 
place  that  we  have  been  in,  that  are  sincere-hearted,  en- 
deavouring to  live  up  to  the  principle  which  we  profess. 
To  these  we  have  felt  nearly  united."  At  Lynchburg, 
"  I  received  thy  very  acceptable  letter,  the  contents  of 
which  were  very  satisfactory  and  strengthening.  I  never 
needed  more  help  and  encouragement  than  at  that  very 
time.  Having  had  a  prospect  that  it  might  be  right  to 
have  a  meeting  with  the  Friends  and  friendly  people  of 
the  town,  and  also  with  the  black  people  there,  the  con- 
cern was  weighty  and  exercising  to  our  minds ;  and  the 
contents  of  thy  letter  were  so  cordial  and  encouraging 
that  it  seemed  indeed  like  bearing  up  of  the  hands  that 
were  ready  to  hang  down  under  the  weight  of  the  exer- 
cise. Thus  are  the  rightly  yoked  made  a  helpmeet  to 
each  other,  even  when  far  separated.  The  meeting  for 
Friends  was,  I  trust,  a  memorable  time  to  many.  I  may 
say  without  boasting,  I  have  never  been  more  sensible  of 
Divine  strength  being  afforded, — mercifully  afforded, — 
than  in  these  two  meetings."  *  *  "  The  other  meet- 
ing was  large  j  many  of  the  gayer  class  of  the  town's 
folks  came  in,  which  increased  the  exercise,  but  I  believe 
truth  was  in  dominion.  May  a  grateful  sense  thereof  be 
remembered  to  my  own  humiliation  j  ascribing  all  unto 


RELIGIOUS  JOURNEY  SOUTH.  63 

Him  that  is  mindful  of  his  little  ones,  who  are  trusting 
in  Him." 

"  I  can't  tell  thee  yet  how  it  may  be  about  Fairfax.  I 
have  not  seen  a  great  way  before  me,  nor  often  looked 
much  back ;  it  requiring  enough  of  attention  to  distin- 
guish the  right  stepping  stones  to  tread  on  in  the  imme- 
diate path  of  duty,  which  is  the  most  material.  I  wish 
to  go  there  without  any  formed  impressions  ;  and  if  we 
feel  easy  without  visiting  the  families,  it  will  be  a  release, 
but  hope  to  be  resigned." 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  letter  of  her  hus- 
band referred  to  :  u  Thy  letter  was  very  acceptable,  al- 
though it  had  been  long  written ;  as  I  am  always  pleased 
to  hear  from  one,  when  absent,  I  so  dearly  love,  and  for 
whose  safe  getting  along  and  welfare  I  feel  very  solicit- 
ous ;  and  it  is  truly  comfortable  to  learn  you  have  been 
so  far  cared  for  and  supported ;  and  though  trying  bap- 
tising seasons  are  often  your  portion,  the  Divine  arm  has 
been  underneath,  and  I  trust  will  continue  to  preserve  to 
the  end  of  your  journey.  It  is  pleasing  to  contemplate 
that  your  faces  are  now  turned  homewards,  and  that  the 
time  is  not  very  distant  when  we  may  be  favoured  to 
meet  again ;  but  hope  to  be  preserved  in  patience  and 
resignation  until  you  can  have  discharged  the  burden  that 
has  been  laid  on  you,  so  as  to  return  with  the  full  reward 
of  peace,  and  can  look  back  with  a  comfortable  assurance 
that  you  have  not  omitted  doing  what  was  pointed  out  in 


64 


RELIGIOUS  JOURNEY  SOUTH. 


the  clear  openings  of  duty.  Notwithstanding  I  often 
feel  my  mind  low  and  under  much  depression,  I  still  feel 
strengthened  to  bear  thy  absence,  beyond  what  I  had  any 
idea  I  could  before  thou  left  me,  which  I  consider  as  a 
peculiar  favour,  for  which  I  cannot  be  too  thankful ;  and 
I  much  desire  the  dispensations  I  have  had  to  pass  through 
for  many  months  past,  may  in  the  end  work  for  my  good, 
and  better  establishment  on  the  everlasting  rock  which 
can  never  be  removed ;  and  I  hope  I  am  striving  to  bear 
with  resignation  and  patience  what  further  trials  may  be 
yet  further  allotted  to  prove  me." 

From  New  Market,  Md.,  7  mo.  26,  R.  Price  writes, 
"  With  satisfaction  I  can  now  inform  thee  that  we  have 
entirely  left  Virginia,  having  got  through  what  we  had 
in  prospect  there  j  visited  all  the  families  of  Fairfax,  at- 
tended the  monthly  meeting  there,  at  South  Fork,  Goose 
Creek,  all  to  good  satisfaction,  though  often  under  dis- 
couragements, feeling  an  entire  necessity  of  a  full  reli- 
ance on  that  Arm  of  Power  that  is  alone  able  to  help, 
and  without  whom  we  can  do  nothing  to  advance  the 
great  cause  of  Truth  and  righteousness. "  8  mo.  4th — 
"  Came  home,  found  my  dear  husband  and  family  all  well. 
With  heart  filled  with  love  and  gratitude  to  the  Father 
and  Fountain  of  all  our  mercies,  in  that  He  has  been 
pleased  to  afford  me  a  portion  of  that  peace  of  mind, 
which  the  world  cannot  give  nor  take  away,  and  is  beyond 


SIMPLICITY  OF  DRESS,  &c.  65 

the  conception  of  the  worldly  wise  in  a  state  of  unre- 
gencration." 

The  following  letter,  during  this  absence,  was  written 
by  Rachel  Price,  to  one  of  her  sons  : 

"Winchester,  Va.,  7  mo.  5,  1809. 
"  Dear  Son, — I  received  thy  very  acceptable  letter  at 
Lynchburg.  It  afforded  me  much  satisfaction  to  find 
thou  art  willing  to  continue  in  the  path  of  self-denial, 
taking  up  thy  cross  to  the  vain  customs  and  fashions  of 
the  world  in  that  place  of  temptations  and  trial  (Phila- 
delphia). Oh,  may  thou  be  favoured  to  stand  firm  now 
in  early  life,  despising  the  shame, — having  an  eye  to  the 
good  Pattern  of  plainness  and  self-denial,  remembering  for 
thy  encouragement  that  he  has  testified,  that  they  that 
acknowledge  Him  before  men,  He  will  also  acknowledge 
before  His  Father  and  the  Holy  Angels  ;  and  mayst  thou 
also  awfully  remember  that  He  has  also  declared  that  they 
that  deny  Him  before  men,  them  He  will  also  deny  before 
His  Father  and  the  Holy  Angels.  I  have  often  felt  very 
anxious  on  thy  account  since  I  left  home,  seeing  the  vary 
great  deviations  in  many  places  of  the  children  of  well 
concerned  Friends,  from  plainness  and  simplicity,  and 
even  good  moral  rectitude ;  but,  notwithstanding  this  is 
the  case  with  too  many,  yet  there  are  some  precious 
young  people  in  this  land  of  oppression,  which  afford  a 
comfortable  prospect  of  a  succession  in  some  places.  And 

I  may  tell  thee,  for  thy  encouragement,  that  I  fully  be- 

6* 


66 


ADHERENCE  TO  PRINCIPLE. 


lieve  that  those  that  are  standing  firm  to  this  profession, 
keeping  to  the  principles  which  we  profess,  are  much 
better  respected  by  the  people  of  the  world,  than  those 
that  are  baulking  the  testimony,  by  giving  way  in  dress 
and  address  j  and  am  sure  that  by  keeping  to  the  princi- 
ple is  the  alone  way  to  obtain  peace  of  mind  here, 
and  furnishes  the  only  well-grounded  hope  of  peace 
when  time  shall  be  no  more.  I  am  pleased  to  find  thou 
art  satisfied  with  thy  place  and  business, — hope  thou  en- 
deavours to  improve  in  every  sense  of  the  word,  so  as  to 
be  capable  of  doing  well  for  thyself.  In  endeared  affection, 
Thy  mother, 

Rachel  Price. 99 

This  letter  is  given  as  an  instance  of  the  anxious  care 
extended  to  all  the  children,  all  of  whom  conformed  not 
only  in  religious  profession,  but  in  respect  to  dress  and 
address,  except  in  the  latter  particulars  the  three  who 
adopted  learned  professions.  The  term  shame  «it  is  be- 
lieved was  used  in  reference  to  the  feeling  experienced  by 
those  who  wish  not  to  be  singular  and  unfashionable  in 
fashionable  company.  It  cannot  be  doubted  that  those 
only  can  be  respected  by  any  class  who  act  faithfully  up 
to  their  own  convictions  of  duty,  whether  it  be  in  dress, 
address,  or  the  more  important  matter  of  Christian  faith 
and  practice.  In  the  advanced  progress  of  Christianity 
its  profession  has  ceased  to  be  cause  of  shame  or  reproach, 
but  rather  the  absence  of  a  Christian  faith  and  practice, 


COURTEOUS  MANNERS.  67 

and  the  caution  often  is,  with  those  who  are  true  to  an 
honest  integrity,  not  to  profess  faster  than  the  conviction 
is  sincerely  felt;  thus  avoiding  all  just  imputation  of 
hypocrisy  or  of  lightly  handling  sacred  things. 

The  severest  of  trials  to  young  Friends,  when  entering 
upon  life,  often  is,  to  observe  the  simplicity  of  manners, 
dress,  and  address,  of  their  religious  Society;  and  the 
conclusion  is  erroneously  formed  that  its  requirings  in 
these  respects  are  inconsistent  with  a  genteel  training  and 
a  polished  behaviour.  It  is  true  that  the  use  of  unmean- 
ing compliments  and  fashionable  manners  would  be  irre- 
concileable  with  the  views  of  Friends;  but  in  respect  to 
all  that  really  constitutes  the  character  of  a  true  gentle- 
man or  lady,  the  training  and  principles  of  the  Society 
should  furnish  the  truest  elements,  in  the  benevolent  im- 
pulses of  the  heart  and  the  inculcated  duty  of  doing  unto 
others  as  we  would  have  others  do  unto  us,  which  will 
unquestionably  imbue  the  feelings  with  a  sincere  kind- 
ness, and  the  desire  to  receive  and  return  a  frank  courtesy 
and  respect.  Having  this  spring  to  their  conduct  in 
social  intercourse,  the  Society  of  Friends  has  always  ex- 
hibited to  the  world  bright  examples  of  men  and  women, 
of  pure  morals,  polished  manners,  and  cultivated  intel- 
lects, who  would  have  felt  at  home  and  ranked  high  in 
the  most  cultivated  and  intelligent  society  in  any  age  or 
country  of  the  world,  provided  only  it  should  be  truthful, 
unpretending,  and  virtuous.    Such   in    England  were 


68  FIRST  OHIO  YEARLY  MEETING. 

Peniugton,  Ellwood,  Penn,  Barclay,  Fothergill,  Collin- 
son,  Tooke,  Allen,  Gurney,  and  Fry ;  and  in  America, 
Logan,  Pemberton,  Emlen,  Savery,  Dillwyn,  Wain,  Grif- 
fitts,  Cox,  Stabler,  Whitall,  Cope,  and  Parrish.  The  law 
of  Christian  benevolence  and  love  should,  and  ever  will, 
induce  gentle,  kind,  and  courteous  manners,  and  all  be- 
yond is  idle  ceremony  and  useless  vanity.  In  shorty 
goodness  and  intelligence  will  ever  lead  all  the  true  graces 
in  their  train. 

In  1810,  Rachel  Price  visited  generally  the  meetings 
of  the  Western  Quarter;  and  in  1812,  those  of  Abington 
Quarter  j  with  good  satisfaction.  In  1813,  Philip  Price 
went  in  company  with  Jesse  Kersey  to  the  Ohio  Yearly 
Meeting,  being  the  first  held  there.  It  was  a  horseback 
journey,  and  meetings  were  appointed  by  the  way.  The 
Yearly  Meeting  commenced  with  apprehensions  that  there 
would  be  "  a  want  of  qualified,  discerning  Friends,  to  con- 
duct the  business  of  so  important  an  assembly  as  a  yearly 
meeting. "  These  apprehensions  were  not  realized.  "  The 
meeting  closed  on  6th-day,"  writes  P.  Price,  "and  I  may 
sum  up  the  whole  by  saying  it  was  a  very  satisfactory 
meeting.  Jesse  Kersey  was  much  favoured.  Indeed  I 
never  have  known  him  more  conspicuously  so,  or  appear 
more  in  his  place  than  in  being  here  at  this  time/' 

Those  who  heard  Jesse  Kersey  at  this  period  of  his 
life,  will  never  forget  the  power  of  his  eloquence.  In  the 
deliberative  assemblies  of  the  Society  he  would  carefully 


JESSE  KEBSEY.  69 

observe  and  sympathize  with  the  exercise  of  the  body, 
and  then  state  the  views  that  had  opened  upon  his  own 
mind,  with  a  clearness  of  demonstration  and  impressive 
influence  that  seldom,  if  ever,  failed  to  guide  and  make 
the  sense  of  the  meeting  conclusively  apparent  and  satis- 
factory. In  the  meetings  for  worship  he  would  commence 
his  subject  by  a  text  or  proposition,  calmly  and  delibe- 
rately consider  it,  reason  upon  it,  and  support  it  by 
scriptural  citation  and  example,  and  proceed  by  a  clear, 
logical  deduction  and  cogent  argument ;  discourse  of  the 
precious  gift  of  God  to  the  souls  of  men;  of  that  faith 
which  is  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen,  the  substance 
of  things  hoped  for  •  that  faith  which  proceeds  from  a 
living  principle,  the  light  and  life  of  the  spirit,  and  mani- 
fests itself  in  corresponding  works ;  and  as  himself  and 
hearers  became  more  deeply  interested,  and  the  sensibili- 
ties were  awakened,  the  examples  of  the  devoted  servants 
of  the  Most  High,  in  past  ages,  and  of  His  precious 
visitations  to  all  people,  in  all  times,  for  their  guidance 
and  preservation,  were  dwelt  upon,  in  persuasive  and 
touching  appeals  to  the  feelings,  and  in  tones  pathetic  and 
impressive.  It  was  truly  "the  feast  of  reason  and  the 
flow  of  soul,"  in  the  highest  sense,  awakening  to  a  re- 
cognition of  our  obligations  of  worship  and  obedience  to 
a  beneficent  and  merciful  Creator,  and  of  love  to  Him 
and  love  to  our  fellow-creatures.  Then  followed  the 
deeply  impressive  silence, — eloquently  impressive  to  an 


70 


AFFECTING  WARNING. 


audience  in  tears, — owning  the  overshadowing  spirit 
of  the  Head  of  the  living  Church  of  God ;  to  be,  after  a 
precious  season  of  fraternal  love  and  prayerful  feeling, 
broken  by  audible  prayer  in  the  same  persuasive  voice, 
of  humble  thankfulness  and  praise  to  the  condescending 
Father  of  Mercies,  for  his  gracious  visitation  to  the 
aearts  of  His  people ;  to  be  followed  by  another  solemn 
pause  and  felt  quietude,  before  the  separation  of  the 
assembly.  It  has  been  acknowledged  by  competent 
judges,  that  within,  or  without,  the  Society  of  Friends, 
in  England  or  America,  no  more  gifted  and  impressive 
powers  of  sacred  eloquence  have  been  heard  than  those 
that  proceeded  from  the  lips  of  Jesse  Kersey  j  yet  his 
advantages  of  literary  education  had  been  very  limited 
and  his  employment  humble.  But  as  was  the  plastic  clay 
under  his  moulding  touch,  so  was  he  himself  beneath 
the  forming  hand  of  Infinite  G-oodness  and  Mercy. 
Thus  far  had  I  written,  with  the  design  to 

"No  farther  seek  his  merits  to  disclose, 

Or  draw  his  frailties  from  their  dread  abode, 

(There  they  alike  in  trembling  hope  repose), 
The  bosom  of  his  Father  and  his  God." 

But  his  own  narrative  has  since  been  published,  and  in 
the  sincerity  of  the  deeply  contrite  and  repentant  heart, 
has  disclosed  the  "  horror  of  the  great  darkness"  that  fell 
upon  him,  in  the  use  of  stimulants,  induced  by  pernicious 
medical  treatment.    In  the  depth  of  mortification  and 


AFFECTING  WARNING. 


71 


humiliation  he  was  brought  to  the  confession  that — 
"  among  all  the  remedies  for  distress,  there  is  none  more 
dreadful  than  that  of  intemperance !"  As  an  awful 
warning  and  beacon  to  others,  this  most  signal  downfall 
of  the  bright,  the  gifted,  and  eloquent  servant  of  God,  is 
probably  little  less  useful,  than  if  his  course  through  life 
had  continued  in  its  meridian  splendour,  unobscured  by 
clouds  and  darkness.  But  he  again  found  Friends  to 
sympathize  and  aid  him  in  the  effort  to  recover  from  the 
fearful  infirmity ;  and  the  life  and  services  of  his  latter 
years,  if  without  their  earlier  strength  and  brightness, 
shed  a  mild  and  benignant  light,  as  he  sank  to  his  final 
rest.  It  is  a  beautiful  and  instructive  trait  of  character, 
that  though  undergoing  the  severest  of  trials,  and  deepest 
of  humiliations,  he  indulged  not  in  a  spirit  of  resentment, 
but  allowed  his  sufferings  to  be  the  chastening  means  of 
self-reproof  and  reformation.  He  passed  into  the  decline 
of  life  without  the  persecution,  but  in  the  repentant  dis- 
position, that  made  the  example  of  James  Naylor,  after 
his  sad  delusion  and  inhuman  persecution,  so  pathetically 
touching.  "  I  cannot  (says  Kersey)  look  back  to  the 
period  when  my  standing  was  called  in  question,  without 
feeling  the  most  poignant  remorse,  that  I  should  have 
been  in  any  degree  the  cause  of  reproach  to  the  ever 
blessed  principle  of  Truth,  of  which  I  have  made  pro- 
fession." But  he  turned  to  the  great  Source  of  true  con- 
solation to  all  who  repent,  "having  witnessed  that  his 


72  SPIRIT  OF  FORGIVENESS. 

God  was  indeed  a  God  of  mercy  and  long-suffering  kind- 
ness/' 

It  is  from  the  depths  of  extremest  suffering,  that  often 
the  soul  is  brought,  through  chastisement,  to  its  most 
perfect  state  of  purification  and  forgiveness.  Of  this  ex- 
perience, the  dying  declarations  of  James  Nay  lor,  are 
among  the  most  touching  and  instructive  to  all,  and  beau- 
tifully illustrative  of  the  true  spirit  of  Quakerism  and  of 
Christianity.  "  There  is  a  spirit  which  I  feel,  that  de- 
lights to  do  no  evil,  nor  to  revenge  any  wrong ;  but  de- 
lights to  endure  all  things,  in  hope  to  enjoy  its  own  in 
the  end.  Its  hope  is  to  outlive  all  wrath  and  contention, 
and  to  weary  out  all  exaltation  and  cruelty,  or  whatever 
is  of  a  nature  contrary  to  itself.  It  sees  to  the  end  of  all 
temptations ;  as  it  bears  no  evil  in  itself,  so  it  conceives 
none  in  thought  to  any  other.  If  it  be  betrayed,  it  bears 
it ;  for  its  ground  and  spring  is  the  mercy  and  forgive- 
ness of  God.  Its  crown  is  meekness  ;  its  life  is  everlast- 
ing love  unfeigned.  It  takes  its  kingdom  with  entreaty, 
and  not  with  contention,  and  keeps  it  by  lowliness  of 
mind.  In  God  alone  it  can  rejoice,  though  none  else  re- 
gard it,  or  can  own  its  life.  It  is  conceived  in  sorrow, 
and  brought  forth  without  any  to  pity  it ;  nor  doth  it 
murmur  at  grief  and  oppression.  It  never  rejoiceth,  but 
through  sufferings;  for  with  the  world's  joy  it  is  murdered. 
I  found  it  alone;  being  forsaken.  I  have  fellowship 
therein  with  those  who  lived  in  dens  and  desolate  places 


SPIRIT  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  73 


in  the  earth ;  who  through  death  obtained  this  resurrec- 
tion, and  eternal,  holy  life." 

This  is  that  spirit  that  Friends  so  well  understand,  but 
which  the  world  is  so  much  at  a  loss  to  comprehend. 
This  is  that  love  and  Gospel  fellowship  that  drew  them 
together  and  so  richly  compensates,  even  in  prisons  and 
solitary  places,  for  all  sacrifices,  sufferings,  and  privations. 
It  was  u  unto  the  Jews  a  stumbling-block,  and  to  the 
Greeks  foolishness/' — and  even  the  Christian  world  yet 
but  imperfectly  comprehends  it.  The  world  casts  its  re- 
proach because  a  spiritual  profession,  that  is  unfettered  by 
the  letter,  may  run  into  an  extreme  of  license,  unjustly 
refusing  to  judge  by  the  test  of  the  fruits,  as  Divinely 
enjoined;  and  it  brings  into  question  the  good  citizenship 
of  a  people  who  will  not  fight  to  sustain  the  laws,  for 
their  firesides,  their  country,  and  their  religion.  The  an- 
swer would  be  enough  for  them  to  say,  we  obey  God 
rather  than  man.  But  is  it  not  also  a  just  and  sufficient 
answer  for  them  to  give,  If  all  men  lived  justly  and  as 
we  in  peace  and  amity  with  all  the  world,  there  never 
would  be  a  call  to  fight  for  law,  firesides,  country,  or  reli- 
gion ?  Living  in  the  example  of  Christ,  their  testimony 
is  to  be  borne  to  all  the  world,  and  in  manner  irritant  to 
none,  and  can  only  be  consistently  borne  by  a  perfect  ab- 
stinence from  all  contention  and  strife;  and  though  it 
might  be  that  upon  occasions  they  should  fall  defenceless 
victims  to  the  wicked  and  violent,  it  is  but  in  accordance 
7 


74  SPIRIT  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

with  the  great  example  of  their  Spiritual  Leader,  in  his 
arrest,  suffering,  and  sublimest  act  of  forgiveness  on  the 
cross,  who  forbade  his  servants  to  fight,  and  prayed  for 
his  enemies,  "  Father  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not 
what  they  do."  No  two  nations,  both  just  and  wise, 
ever  went  to  war.  Friends'  example  and  warning  are  to 
both  and  to  all,  and  the  force  of  that  example  and  warn- 
ing would  be  lost  if  they  mingled  at  all  in  the  fierceness 
of  strife  and  bloodshed.  Unresistant  by  force,  they  suf- 
fered torture,  imprisonment,  and  death,  by  thousands,  in 
Old  England,  and  were  whipped  and  hung  in  New  Eng- 
land. By  their  patient,  firm,  and  resolute  heroism, 
what  did  they  not  accomplish,  not  for  themselves  only, 
but  for  all  others  ?  Inhumanity  and  cruelty  at  length 
relented,  wearied  of  their  persecutions,  and  human  rights, 
by  the  fidelity  and  sufferings  of  Friends,  became  secured 
by  better  laws.  When  vested  with  political  power  in  a 
new  commonwealth,  they  acted  not  on  that  too  common 
principle  of  our  nature,  that  makes  the  slave  put  in 
power  the  severest  taskmaster,  or  the  persecuted  in  his 
turn  the  severest  persecutor,  as  if  by  infliction  on  others 
to  compensate  for  former  sufferings  endured.  Friends  in 
Pennsylvania  were,  by  their  toleration  and  justice,  the 
admiration  of  the  wise  and  good  of  all  the  world ;  and 
their  pacific  principle  and  practice,  even  as  a  worldly 
policy,  put  to  shame  the  wisdom  of  the  other  earlier  set- 
tlers on  this  continent.  Without  arms  they  landed  among 


PRINCIPLE  OF  PEACE. 


75 


and  exposed  themselves  to  the  tender  mercies  of  those 
called  savages.  They  formed  a  treaty  of  peace  with  them, 
the  only  one  it  is  said  ever  formed  without  an  oath,  and 
the  only  one  never  broken  j  and  if  violated  ever  in  spirit, 
it  was  not  by  the  Indians  so  much  as  b}^  those  descendants 
and  agents  of  the  family  of  William  Penn,  who,  in  depart- 
ing from  his  strict  sense  of  justice,  as  they  did  also  from 
his  religious  profession,  overreached  the  Indians  by  "long 
walks?'  accelerated  to  running,  to  encompass  undue  quan- 
tities of  land,  and  hence  bred  a  discontent  and  insecurity 
of  far  greater  loss  and  disadvantage  than  the  price  that 
would  have  been  cheerfully  taken  for  the  lands  thus  un- 
justly gained.  And  when  war  came  by  the  acts  of 
others,  Friends  in  its  midst  enjoyed  the  highest  security. 
It  is  a  needless  task  to  destroy  those  who  will  not  fight — 
those  who  will  not  be  enemies ;  and  it  is  unnatural  to  in- 
jure those  whose  avocation  it  is  to  go  about  doing  good. 
Few,  indeed,  are  so  wantonly  cruel,  certainly  not  the 
Savages,  as  to  destroy  known  benefactors ;  those  engaged 
in  works  of  love  and  charity ;  in  helping  the  helpless, 
relieving  the  destitute,  healing  the  wounded,  curing  the 
sick,  visiting  the  imprisoned;  such  as  the  Howards,  the 
Frys,  the  Dicks,  or  those  most  devoted  of  women,  the 
"  Sisters  of  Charity,"  who  frequent  the  wards  of  pesti- 
lence and  death,  to  minister  to  the  sick  and  dying.  Pre- 
judice, passion,  and  wickedness,  may  be  inflamed  and  for 
a  time  triumph,  and  inflict  penalties  and  punishment. 


76 


PRINCIPLE  OF  PEACE. 


upon  the  disinterested  benefactors  of  the  helpless  victims  of 
oppression,  or  of  the  insane  inmates  of  their  asylums,  and 
burn  the  convents  of  harmless  women  who  have  devoted 
their  lives  to  religion  j  but  the  reacting  sentiment  of 
humanity  and  justice  will  soon  again  restore  the  unjustly 
injured  to  their  true  position  of  respect,  favour,  and 
gratitude. 

But  if  the  peace  principle  held  by  Friends,  be  imprac- 
ticable as  a  worldly  policy,  it  is  only  so  because  of  the 
injustice  and  wickedness  of  the  world.  And  is  that  a 
sufficient  motive  for  them  to  abandon  their  heavenly 
descended  principle,  and  to  succumb  to  and  participate  in 
that  injustice  and  wickedness  ?  Is  it  not  rather  their 
duty  ever  and  unflinchingly  to  maintain  their  sacred 
testimony  against  evils  of  man's  self-infliction  so  cruel, 
brutal,  and  devastating,  as  those  of  war  ?  Let  them  not 
be  discouraged  ;  the  world  has  advanced,  and  been  ad- 
vanced by  them,  in  toleration,  justice,  mercy,  and  for- 
giveness. The  axe,  the  halter,  and  the  sword,  are  of  less 
frequent  application ;  and  peace,  security,  and  happiness, 
are  progressive  on  the  earth. 

Be  it  that  Friends  must  endure  the  charge  of  transcen- 
dentalism; it  is  but  an  assertion  that  their  standard  is 
excellent  above  that  which  unregenerate  men  have  yet 
attained.  It  is  but  a  confession  that  these  have  found 
Christianity  impracticable  to  themselves.  Is  then  the 
exalted  standard  of  Christianity  to  be  reduced  to  meet 


PRINCIPLE  OF  PEACE. 


77 


man's  short-comings,  and  conform  to  his  imperfect  stand- 
ard ?  Rather  let  men  look  upward  to  the  standard  of 
highest  perfection,  and  in  aiming  to  reach  it,  attain  a 
higher  excellence.  Striking  is  the  contrast  between  the 
Christian  standard-bearer  and  his  accusers.  These  re- 
proach him  for  striving  for  an  exalted  purity,  and  becom- 
ing, perhaps,  a  martyr  to  principle ;  but  he  regards  them 
with  kindness,  pity,  charity,  and  forgiveness ;  because 
they  know  not  what  is  their  loss.  They  would  drag  him 
down  to  their  worldly  condition  and  spirit  of  contention ; 
he,  in  abounding  love  and  sympathy,  would  raise  them  to 
the  enjoyment  of  his  own  pure  and  exalted  serenity,  love, 
and  happiness,  and  prays  that  they  may  be  forgiven,  "for 
they  know  not  what  they  do." 

Yet  there  exists  a  soldiery,  and  it  may  be  a  patriotic 
soldiery,  and  as  the  world  now  is,  the  necessary  protectors 
of  order  and  security,  but  they  are  a  necessity  arising 
only  from  the  wickedness  or  folly  of  mankind,  and  to  be 
used,  in  worldly  policy,  in  the  smallest  practicable  quan- 
tity, as  themselves  dangerous  to  security  and  liberty. 
But  looking  to  the  ultimate  good,  and  to  the  influence  of 
the  advocates  of  peace  on  that  public  opinion  that  deter- 
mines the  momentous  question  of  peace  or  war,  these  ;ire 
to  be  cherished  as  affording  that  example,  and  the  main- 
tainors of  that  principle,  which  alone  can  mirror  and 
establish  the  future  pervading  happiness  of  the  world, 

that  is  the  hope  of  all  good  men.    Thus,  if  in  the  mino- 

7  * 


78 


HOME  PROTECTION. 


rity,  they  accomplish  a  great  good ;  and  could  they  obtain 
a  unanimity  of  sentiment  and  practice,  then  would  the 
world  witness  an  unprecedented  peace  and  prosperity, — 
even  the  bliss  fabled  by  poets,  and  the  happiness  hoped 
for  in  the  millennium.  But  if  the  ultimate  perfection  and 
happiness  be  unattainable,  yet  is  every  approach  a  gain  to 
the  world ;  while  to  those  who  are  of  the  kingdom  whose 
"  servants  fight  not/'  it  is  a  realized  beatitude,  except 
only  as  the  good  must  ever  sympathize  with  and  strive 
for  the  recovery  of  the  unregenerate  and  uninstructed 
in  their  own  true  felicity. 

During  the  second  war  with  England,  from  1812  to 
1815,  when  foreign  supplies  were  cut  off,  our  own  manu- 
facturers having  a  monopoly  of  the  home  market,  Merino 
sheep  came  into  great  request,  and  attained  highly  specu- 
lative prices.  Large  flocks  then  and  afterwards  ranged 
the  farms  of  Philip  Price,  and  were  good  fertilizers  of  the 
soil.  But  with  the  influx  brought  by  the  return  of  peace,  of 
foreign  goods,  and  the  impolitic  abandonment  by  the  gov- 
ernment of  an  adequate  protection  to  the  capital  invested 
in  manufactories,  wool  and  sheep  found  a  sudden  depression, 
and  the  loss  on  these  aggravated  the  difficulties  of  the  farm- 
ing interests,  otherwise  severely  suffering  under  the  fall  of 
prices  incident  to  a  return  after  the  war  from  an  inflated 
paper  currency  to  a  specie  basis.  The  large  flocks  that 
whitened  the  hills  of  Chester  county  soon  disappeared, 
only  to  reappear,  many  years  afterwards,  on  the  cheaper 


AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY. 


79 


lands  of  the  rolling  surface  of  "Washington  and  adjoining 
counties  in  western  Pennsylvania.  An  incident  occurred 
in  relation  to  the  produce  of  the  sheep  of  P.  Price,  that 
afforded  some  amusement  at  the  time.  Until  then 
blue  had  been  the  standing  military  colour,  and  he  had 
his  wool  manufactured  into  gray  cloth  and  sent  to  the 
store  at  West  Chester,  thinking  it  quite  secure  from 
military  service  j  but  it  so  happened  that  the  first  volun- 
teer company  there  formed  fancied  that  colour,  called 
themselves  the  "  Chester  County  Grays,"  and  the  writer, 
then  a  lad  in  the  store,  thought  himself  in  good  luck  to 
sell  the  whole  stock  of  Quaker  cloth  to  the  members  to 
go  to  camp.  The  companies  at  Marcus  Hook  were  not, 
however,  called  to  meet  the  enemy,  and  the  clothing  had 
only  served  to  keep  the  soldiers  warm,  a  circumstance 
hardly  to  be  regretted,  since  among  them  were  personal 
friends,  and  an  uncle  of  the  writer,  Joseph  H.  Brinton, 
who,  though  of  great  wealth,  advanced  age,  and  mild 
manners,  believed  it  to  be  his  duty  to  turn  out  as  a  vol- 
unteer private  in  the  defence  of  his  country.  He  was 
not  bred  a  Friend,  and  was  undoubtedly  actuated  by  a 
high  sense  of  patriotic  feeling. 

The  Agricultural  Society  of  Chester  county  was  or- 
ganized early  in  the  year  1820,  by  the  election  of  Philip 
Price,  as  President,  Doctor  William  Darlington,  as  Vice- 
President,  and  Isaac  Sharpless,  as  Secretary  ;  and  about 
fifty  of  its  most  substantial  and  worthy  farmers  were 


80 


AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY. 


appointed  on  its  ten  committees.  It  was  the  first  society 
in  the  State  composed  chiefly  of  practical  farmers.  The 
objects  embraced  by  its  standing  committees,  evince  the 
intelligence  and  liberal  scope  of  the  minds  of  the  mem- 
bers. The  committees  were :  1.  On  farm  buildings, 
fences,  and  implements  of  husbandry;  2.  On  the  veteri- 
nary art;  3.  On  natural  history,  particularly  mine- 
ralogy and  entomology ;  4.  Political  economy ;  5. 
Domestic  animals ;  6.  Grasses,  grains,  and  roots ;  7. 
Manures;  8.  Fruit  and  forest  trees;  9.  Irrigation  and 
draining ;  10.  Horticulture ;  with  specifications  of  the 
objects  and  purposes  of  each  committee.  An  address  to 
the  citizens  of  the  county  was  prepared  by  Nathan  H. 
Sharpless,  recommending  its  objects,  and  inviting  investi- 
gation and  contribution  of  the  results  of  experiment  and 
experience ;  which  states  that  "  it  is  within  the  memory 
of  many  of  us  that  this  county  was  very  poor,  but  thanks 
to  the  worthy  founders  of  our  present  farming  system, 
our  own  industry  and  a  beneficent  Providence,  it  has 
arisen  to  a  degree  of  prosperity  and  excellence  seldom 
witnessed  in  so  short  a  period  of  time.  Most  of  you 
know  how  this  has  been  accomplished.  It  has  been 
effected  by  a  judicious  rotation  of  crops,  by  clover  and 
gypsum. "  To  encourage  the  diffident  and  unpractised 
with  the  pen,  the  address  proceeds, — "  It  would  not  be 
expected  that  all  communications,  to  be  beneficial,  should 
be  grammatically  correct,  or  in  smoothly  rounded  periods ; 


AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY. 


SI 


practical  observations  and  facts,  tending  in  any  degree  to 
illustrate  the  subject,  will  find  as  ready  acceptance  dressed 
in  the  plainest  language  of  simplicity,  as  the  more  polished 
sentences  of  the  philosopher  or  scholar."  A  further  ad- 
dress, from  the  pen  of  another  member,  William  H. 
Dillingham,  will  also  be  found  in  the  columns  of  the 
"  Village  Record,"  of  the  same  year,  enforcing  concert 
of  action  for  the  common  interest,  the  diffusion  of  useful 
intelligence,  and  to  raise  the  profession  of  agriculture  in 
the  public  estimation.  Much  of  this  address  would  have 
been  forcibly  pertinent  in  favour  of  the  formation  of  a 
State  Agricultural  Society,  as  lately  consummated,  at  a 
central  point  for  exhibition,  the  receipt  and  diffusion  of 
information,  seeds,  &c.  And  reference  is  made  to  another 
great  branch  of  human  industry  to  enforce  the  argument 
and  afford  encouragement  to  a  like  vigilance  and  concen- 
tration of  power.  "  In  no  part  of  the  world  are  the  mer- 
chants without  their  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  to  this 
means,  in  a  great  measure,  is  to  be  ascribed,  not  only 
their  high  respectability  as  a  body,  but  their  great  unani- 
mity in  public  measures,  and  their  weight  in  almost  every 
government.  The  moment  their  interests  are  touched  in 
any  one  point,  the  whole  body  sympathizes,  and  all  their 
influence  is  exerted  through  the  common  organ/'  Ches- 
ter county  has  now  her  Horticultural  Hall,  and  though  a 
later  architectural  ornament  to  TVest  Chester  than  the 
Chester  County  Cabinet,  the  liberal  scope  of  the  purposes 


82 


SERVICE  IN  THE  MINISTRY. 


of  the  Agricultural  Society  probably  suggested  the  form- 
ation of  the  Cabinet,  Horticultural  Society,  &c.  Certain, 
however,  it  is,  that  such  naturalists  as  Dr.  Darlington, 
David  Townsend,  Joshua  Hoopes,  and  many  others,  were 
active  in  all,  and  by  their  industry  and  zeal,  have  added 
to  the  scientific  character  of  the  county,  and  one  of  them 
by  his  publications  has  acquired  a  reputation  among 
European  savans.  In  giving  his  own  learning,  and  the 
remains  of  other  naturalists — of  a  Baldwin,  Humphreys, 
Collinson,  and  Bartram — to  the  public,  he  has  acted  in 
the  benevolent  spirit,  and  not  in  that  of  those  whom 
Buckminster  reproaches  as  the  misers  of  learning,  who 
hoard  for  themselves  alone :  "  That  learning,  whatever  it 
may  be,  which  lives  and  dies  with  the  possessor,  is  more 
worthless  than  his  wealth,  which  descends  to  posterity. " 
If  all  capable  of  teaching  would  thus  earnestly  devote 
themselves  in  some  way  and  to  some  extent,  to  instruct 
mankind,  the  progress  of  improvement  would  be  vastly 
accelerated. 

During  the  years  of  their  superintendence  of  West- 
Town,  and  afterwards  of  their  school  at  West  Chester,  the 
duties  there  devolved  upon  them,  relieved  Philip  and 
Rachel  Price  from  the  service  of  distant  travel.  Their 
sphere  of  influence  was,  however,  hardly  more  circum- 
scribed. Children  came  to  them  from  far  and  near,  to 
experience  from  them  the  care  and  concern  of  earthly 
parents,  and  to  sit  under  the  teaching  of  a  spiritual  mo- 


SERVICE  IN  THE  MINISTRY. 


83 


ther.  The  communion  of  feeling  was  promotive  of  the 
mutual  happiness;  for  they  loved  the  innocence  and 
purity  of  youth,  untainted  by  a  knowledge  of  the  evils 
of  the  world,  and  drew  them  unto  them  in  the  spirit  of 
the  Holy  one,  who  said  "  suffer  little  children  to  come 
unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not,  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom 
of  Heaven. "  Meetings  of  worship  were  regularly  held 
in  the  house  at  West-Town ;  and  besides  an  attendance  at 
the  places  of  worship,  frequent  family  sittings,  and  read- 
ings of  the  Scriptures  of  Truth,  took  place  in  the  school, 
at  West  Chester.  On  such  occasions,  and  to  her  latest 
age  of  over  eighty  years,  Rachel  Price  spoke  under  emo- 
tions of  deep  humility  and  exercise  of  religious  feeling, 
as  in  the  discharge  of  a  duty  she  could  not  disobey  and 
obtain  the  peace  of  mind  her  soul  coveted.  Her  power 
of  voice  was  not  great,  but  gentle  and  pathetic  in  its 
tones,  and  sweetly  in  unison  with  the  affectionate  appeals 
made  to  her  hearers.  She  ever  dwelt  upon  the  Divine 
precepts  of  our  Saviour, — His  love,  His  sufferings,  and 
sacrifice,  with  an  intense  -sympathy  and  love,  inducing  a 
like  feeling  of  love  and  appreciation  of  His  merits  in 
others.  She  ever  held  in  view  His  promise  to  return  as 
the  Comforter  and  spiritual  visiter  to  the  souls  of  men ; 
admonishing  the  young  to  heed  His  gentle  knockings  at 
the  door  of  the  heart,  and  the  whisperings  of  the  still  small 
voice  of  love,  offering  its  divine  counsels  for  safe  guidance 
through  a  world  beset  with  temptations.    Though  it 


84 


SERVICE  IN  THE  MINISTRY. 


should  demand  continual  watchfulness,  and  the  road  be 
straight  and  narrow,  yet  it  was  with  the  promise  that  all 
His  wa}Ts  were  ways  of  peace,  and  all  His  paths 
paths  of  pleasantness.  With  more  than  the  yearning  of 
a  mother's  affection,  she  would  gather  them  beneath  the 
enfolding  wings  of  G-ospel  love.  It  is  believed  that  she 
was  seldom  visited  with  the  sorrowful  regret  of  Him  who 
wept  over  the  people  of  Jerusalem,  whom  He  would  thus 
have  gathered,  "  but  they  would  not  ;M  but  it  is  remem- 
bered with  contrition  by  one  of  her  sons,  who  had 
absented  himself  from  her  on  an  occasion  of  religious 
worship,  that  the  solemn  language  came  sorrowfully  to 
her  mind  in  reference  to  him, — "  Couldst  not  thou  watch 
one  hour"  with  me  ?  The  keenest  of  reproaches,  com- 
municated in  love,  was  followed,  as  in  the  Divine  example, 
by  a  benign  forgiveness.  With  the  stricken  and  discon- 
solate she  was  deeply  sympathetic,  and  most  affectionate 
in  her  appeals  that  they  should  turn  to  the  true  and  ever- 
lasting source  of  comfort ;  and  often  did  she  repeat  to 
such  the  invitation  of  the  Divine  Master,  with  the  sanc- 
tion of  her  own  heartfelt  experience, — "  Come  unto  me, 
all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give 
you  rest.  Take  my  yoke  upon  you,  and  learn  of  me ; 
for  I  am  meek  and  lowly  in  heart ;  and  ye  shall  find  rest 
unto  your  souls  ;  for  my  yoke  is  easy,  and  my  burden  is 

Hght." 

At  no  period  of  life,  and  under  no  circumstances,  did 


CHOICE  OF  PROFESSION.  85 

the  children  of  these  affectionate  parents  cease  to  be  the 
objects  of  their  Christian  care  and  deep  parental  solicitude. 
Those  who  adopted  professions,  did  so  not  under  a  prohi- 
bition, vet  without  their  "  cordial  approbation. 99  In  the 
legal  profession,  it  was  apprehended,  there  could  be  little 
quiet  peace  of  mind  to  be  enjoyed,  in  the  midst  of  strife 
and  contention  j  that  temptation  would  arise  to  make 
causes  appear  difficult  to  enhance  the  fees  j  and  that 
while  w  sensible  there  is  no  profession  by  which  a  man 
may  raise  himself  in  the  public  estimation  more  conspicu- 
ously, it  might  lead  away  from  that  true  Christian  dignity 
which  is  so  much  superior  to  all  this  world  can  confer. 
Though  the  happiness  and  comfort  of  my  beloved  child- 
ren has  always  been  an  object  of  my  most  ardent  desire, 
and  I  have  endeavoured  to  promote  it  as  far  as  was  in  my 
power,  and  have  wished  to  leave  them  very  much  to 
choose  for  themselves  such  occupations  as  would  accord 
with  their  own  views,  yet  I  have  always  desired  they 
might  be  content  with  the  humble  walks  of  life,  in  which 
there  is  much  less  temptation  to  depart  from  those  prin- 
ciples which  we  must  practise,  if  ever  we  expect  to 
secure  that  peace  and  felicity  which  can  only  be  attained 
thereby."  *  *  "  Notwithstanding  we  have  been  much 
comforted  in  a  belief  that  thou  hast  intended  to  regulate 
thy  conduct  by  the  strictest  integrity  and  morality,  fears 
will  be  excited  from  thy  continual  exposure"  to  adverse 
influencos.  This  is  an  instance  of  repeated  expressions 
8 


86 


EDUCATION  OF  THE  HEART. 


of  parental  regard  and  wisdom  of  one  of  the  best  of 
fathers,  pointing  to  the  true  sources  of  human  happiness 
and  dignity.  One  rule  given  by  him  at  the  outset  of 
professional  practice,  cannot  be  too  often  inculcated  on 
young  beginners, — "always  to  have  the  client's  money 
ready  when  he  calls." 

While  the  subjects  of  this  memoir  were  always  friendly 
to  the  cause  of  education,  and  devoted  much  of  their 
lives  to  its  promotion,  it  was  in  regard  to  the  education 
of  the  heart  that  they  were  ever  most  solicitous.  They 
well  understood  the  risk  there  constantly  is  that  the 
learning  of  the  head  may  be  at  the  expense  of  that  teach- 
ing of  the  heart  which  it  was  the  great  and  unceasing 
purpose  of  their  lives  to  foster.  In  regard  to  those  sons 
who  had  chosen  the  learned  professions,  their  anxiety  in 
this  respect  was  intense,  and  their  warnings  frequent  and 
solemn.  They  perceived  the  danger  incurred  of  a  yield- 
ing to  the  suggestions  of  an  absorbing  ambition,  and  that 
even  the  laudable  desire  of  being  sufficiently  learned  to 
be  skilful  and  reliable,  might  exact  so  much  time  and  so 
fully  occupy  the  mind,  as  to  become  too  exclusive  an  en- 
gagement, and  leave  the  more  precious  seed  and  germs 
of  the  heart  to  wither,  exhausted  of  their  needful  support. 
Ambition  they  knew  to  be  a  barren  soil  for  the  growth 
of  the  gentle  affections,  and  the  reasoning  faculty  they 
believed  often  to  be  impoverishing  to  the  growth  of  reli- 
gious life.    Besides  the  exacting  demands  of  professional 


EDUCATION  OF  THE  HEART.  87 

learning  and  business,  the  scholar  who  too  exclusively 
cultivates  and  relies  upon  the  deductions  of  his  under- 
standing is  ever  in  peril  of  placing  an  undue  dependence 
upon  his  own  intellectual  strength  and  moral  fortitude. 
The  observation  of  physical  facts  and  close  logical  deduc- 
tions become  engagements  too  exclusive  to  permit  a  cor- 
responding culture  of  the  moral  and  religious  suscepti- 
bilities with  which  we  are  wonderfully  endowed.  The 
self-confident  philosopher  assumes  the  problem  of  life  to 
be,  and  he  the  wisest  man,  who  can  derive  the  greatest 
amount  of  pleasurable  sensations  with  the  fewest  of  pain : 
the  laws  of  health  are  to  be  observed  to  avert  pain  and 
suffering;  but  consistently  therewith  pleasure  may  be 
-  tasted  to  the  measure  of  the  human  capacity  for  enjoy- 
ment. This  theory,  adopted  in  the  ardour  and  confidence 
of  youth  in  its  practical  carrying  out,  is  commonly  found 
to  be  depreciative  of  worth  and  character;  indulgence 
begets  increase  of  appetite ;  the  Stoic  gives  way  to  the 
Epicurean  philosophy;  and  the  pride  of  intellectual 
strength  must  succumb  in  sympathetic  decay  with  the 
undermined  physical  powers.  The  sentinel  Reason,  in 
dalliance  with  pleasure,  is  betrayed  and  lost  to  the  enemy, 
and  is  powerless  to  retrieve  the  fatal  error,  or  reascend 
the  way  so  easy  of  declension. 

Against  the  ever  operative  seductions  of  the  sensual 
appetites,  producing  a  moral  paralysis  and  spiritual  in- 
anity, as  well  as  destructive    to    health,  Christianity 


S3 


THE  DIVINE  LIGHT. 


teaches,  and  Friends  have  ever  emphatically  preached,  a 
sure  means  of  preservation  and  safety  to  every  human 
soul.  It  instructs  to  the  observance  of  a  higher  principle 
of  action,  cultivates  to  a  higher  sensibility  to  virtue,  a 
quicker  perception  of  evil,  and  to  an  appreciation  of 
higher  joys,  in  the  presence  of  which  degrading  vices 
cease  to  tempt,  and,  become  repulsive,  now  confirm  virtuous 
resolves.  Friends  find  in  the  promises  of  the  Gospel,  and 
in  the  experiences  of  their  own  spiritual  travail,  a  quicker 
monitor  than  the  process  of  reason ;  for  reason  short- 
sightedly estimates  the  tempting  pleasure  at  a  value  that 
will  ever  bias  the  decision,  while  in  the  sacrifice  of  it  the 
far-seeing  Christian  soldier  finds  in  his  triumph  a  more 
than  compensating  foretaste  of  a  superior  happiness.  . 
Friends  have  been  the  especial  instructors  in  the  doctrine 
of  the  inward  guide  and  Divine  light  "given  to  every 
man  to  profit  withal,"  and  ever  nigh,  "  even  in  the  heart." 
They  experimentally  know  that  "  The  heart  of  the  wise 
teaches  his  mouth  and  addeth  learning  to  his  lips."  It 
is  the  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures,  every  part  of  which 
gleams  with  the  truth  that  Grod  speaks  to  and  operates 
upon  the  hearts  of  his  people.  It  comports  with  His  benefi- 
cence and  justice  towards  the  creatures  of  his  own  crea- 
tion that  He  should  cast  a  light  on  their  path,  through 
the  perilous  pilgrimage  of  life ;  and  it  is  not  for  philoso- 
phy to  assert  that  the  Master  of  all  causes  cannot  shape 
them  to  His  ends,  influence  the  affections,  change  the 


THE  LIGHT  WITHIN.  89 

heart,  and  suggest  the  thoughts  of  men,  for  their  indi- 
vidual or  national  guidance.  The  Psalmist  exclaims, 
"  Whither  shall  I  go  from  Thy  spirit?  or  whither  shall  I 
flee  from  Thy  presence  V*  "  I  will  praise  Thee,  for  I  am 
fearfully  and  wonderfully  made."  "  How  precious  also 
are  Thy  Thoughts  unto  me,  oh,  God  !  How  great  is  the 
sum  of  them  !  If  I  should  count  them,  they  are  more  in 
number  than  the  sand  :  When  I  awake,  I  am  still  with 
Thee."  And  how  emphatic  and  awfully  impressive,  and 
repressive  of  sinful  indulgences,  the  declarations .  of  the 
New  Testament,  "  Know  ye  not  that  ye  are  the  temple 
of  God,  and  that  the  spirit  of  God  dwelleth  in  you  ?" 
and  "  if  any  man  defile  the  temple  of  God,  him  shall 
God  destroy  :"  u  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  within  j"  and 
"  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love,  joy,  peace,  faith." 

Those  who  are  quiescent  from  agitating  worldly  influ- 
ences, desirous  to  be  enlightened,  and  guided  by  the 
highest  wisdom,  sincerely  true  to  their  own  happiness  and 
prayerfully  earnest  that  they  might  not  be  betrayed  into 
temptation,  cannot  have  failed  to  perceive  feelings  to 
arise  and  thoughts  to  be  suggested  of  unwonted  clearness, 
as  obeyed  to  conduce  to  safety  of  conduct  and  solace  of 
mind;  and  again  in  the  retrospects  of  the  future,  the 
Divine  guidance  through  the  besetting  perils  of  the  past, 
but  become  mare  conspicuously  apparent,  in  the  visible 
shipwrecks  of  others,  with  which  the  shores  of  life  are 
strewn.  Man  may  do  much  to  put  himself  in  the  position 
8* 


90 


THE  LIGHT  WITHIN. 


to  be  the  recipient,  but  cannot  of  his  own  will  command, 
the  Divine  favour  :  He  may  withdraw  himself  from  the 
current  of  worldly  cares  and  strifes,  enter  into  his  closet, 
or  gather  among  those  of  whom  Christ  has  promised  to 
be  in  the  midst,  and  patiently  waiting,  "  in  the  silence  of 
all  flesh,"  he  will  find  precious  visitations  to  his  soul, 
coming  unbidden  and  without  human  effort,  and  often 
without  discernible  association  according  to  any  asserted 
law  regulating  the  successions  of  human  thought.  Holy 
influences  are  breathed  upon  the  soul  more  sweetly  than 
the  tones  of  music,  potent  to  dispel  its  anxieties,  kindling 
into  faith,  hope,  and  joy.  Though  the  understanding  be 
not  able  to  trace  the  cause  or  comprehend  the  means  of 
operation,  the  effect  and  the  fact  are  obviously  apparent. 
The  presence  of  a  power  of  spiritual  discernment  is  felt, 
and  its  discernments  are  perceived  with  sufficient  distinct- 
ness to  become  the  practical  and  sure  guidance  of  life. 
"  The  wind  bloweth  where  it  listeth,  and  thou  nearest 
the  sound  thereof,  but  canst  not  tell  whence  it  cometh  or 
whither  it  goeth  ;  so  is  every  one  that  is  born  of  the 
spirit."  Judging  from  the  beneficent  effects,  it  is  enough 
to  believe  its  source  is  good  and  its  end  peace  and  happi- 
ness. This  Divine  influence,  figuratively  called  "  the 
light  within,"  so  earnestly  believed  and  preached  by 
ancient  Friends  as  to  become  their  most  distinguishing 
characteristic,  is  that  doctrine  most  prominently  taught 
in  all  the  Scriptures  of  Truth,  and  owning  the  inward 


DUTY  OF  OBEDIENCE.  91 

and  operative  presence  of  the  Spirit  of  God  is  most  potent 
to  purge  of  sin  and  give  elevation  and  purity  to  the 
human  affections.  Who,  dwelling  in  this  faith,  can  dare 
to  pollute  the  chosen  temple  of  the  Immaculate,  to  dim 
its  heavenly  lustre,  and  crucify  again  the  Holy  Spirit  in 
this  inward  appearance  ! 

This  doctrine,  preached  and  practised  by  all  true 
Friends,  and  most  consistently  preached  and  practised 
through  life  by  the  subjects  of  this  Menioir,  is,  however, 
ever  accompanied  by  the  warning  that  the  voice  that 
speaks  within  may  be  unheeded  until  it  shall  not  speak 
again ;  that  the  eye  may  be  so  wilfully  closed  upon  the 
light  as  to  become  sealed  in  blindness.  This  voice  may 
speak  in  whispers,  but  in  stillness  is  to  be  listened  to  and 
obeyed  j  and  though  the  light  appear  as  the  earliest  dawn, 
yet  is  it  to  be  watched  to  its  perfect  day.  The  faith  be- 
gotten is  in  the  beginning  compared  to  the  smallest  of 
seed,  which  may  grow  to  great  size ;  but  its  germ,  how- 
ever small,  is  not  to  be  choked,  nor  the  flower  of  promise 
crushed,  or  there  will  be  no  fruit.  The  good  seed  is 
broadly  cast  upon  every  soil,  as  the  rain  is  sent  alike  upon 
the  just  and  the  unjust,  that  none  may  have  excuse ;  but 
with  some  it  falls  as  upon  stony  places,  with  others  as 
among  thorns,  and  with  some  as  upon  good  ground.  The 
duty  and  responsibility  is  with  the  recipient  to  give  it 
nourishment  and  growth  until  it  shall  yield  good  fruit  : 
It  may  be  quickened  by  the  tears  of  repentant  sorrow,  or 


92  SPIRITUAL  EXPERIENCE. 

by  those  that  spring  from  the  grateful  heart  of  love  and 
devotion,  alike  owning  its  source,  the  "  living  water 
springing  up  into  everlasting  life." 

This  growth,  though  "  it  cometh  without  observation," 
is  as  certain  and  visible  in  its  effects  upon  human  feelings, 
thought,  conduct,  and  character,  as  the  phenomena  of 
physical  nature,  and  thus  carries  with  it  the  same  force 
of  demonstration.  Philosophy  itself  enumerates  "  the 
principle  of  faith"  and  "  the  sense  of  the  Deity"  as  in- 
herent in  the  human  mind  j*  whilst  it  also  avers  the 
sources  of  all  human  ideas  to  proceed  from  sensation,  and 
the  reflective  operations  of  the  mind.f  But  these  are 
perceived  and  known  only  by  consciousness  ;  nay,  it  is  only 
by  consciousness  that  we  know  that  we  live  and  recognise 
our  own  identity  )  and  it  is  equally  by  consciousness  that 
the  spiritual  operations  are  felt  and  known,  than  which, 
and  the  religious  convictions  thereby  sealed  upon  the  mind, 
nothing  can  be  more  direct  and  powerful.  There  is  no 
evidence  of  higher  certainty  that  can  reach  the  human 
understanding;  all  must  reach  the  mental  consciousness ; 
it  is  experience  all,  perceived,  felt,  known  experience. 

With,  therefore,  all  the  certainty  of  demonstration  that 
pertains  to  objects  of  physical  perception,  is  it  not 
rational  to  believe  that  the  Creator  should  ever  be  as 
operative  upon  human  feeling,  thought,  and  conduct,  as 
that  His  power  should  be  incessantly  active  upon  all  the 
*  Rush  on  the  Mind,  10.  f  Locke,  Stewart. 


DIVINE  INTERPOSITION. 


93 


inferior  creation  ?  All  things  proclaim  their  origin  in  a 
Supreme  Intelligence,  whose  watchfulness  and  protection 
are  never  for  a  moment  intermitted  j  and  man,  the  highest 
in  perfection,  and  of  greatest  permitted  range  and  liberty 
of  choice,  most  of  all  needs  guidance  and  protective  care, 
and  must  mainly  receive  and  share  it  through  the  feel- 
ings and  mental  operations.  No  one  will  rationally  say 
that  a  being  so  wonderfully  framed  and  mentally  endowed 
as  man  is  the  production  of  blind,  physical  causes, — in 
structure,  feeling,  immaterial  thought  and  heavenly  aspi- 
rations,— of  causes  absolute,  irreversible,  unvaryingly 
and  eternally  operative — without  subsequent  interposition 
to  imbue  a  feeling  or  suggest  a  thought  for  mortal 
guidance.  This  would  contradict  the  beneficence  and 
wisdom  displayed  in  all  creation.  Man's  wants  are 
infinitely  diversified,  and  as  infinite  the  resources  must  be 
for  his  well  being.  Is  it  a  greater  marvel  to  the  compre- 
hension that  God  should  regard  and  protect  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  life  and  happiness,  the  being  whom  he  created, 
than  that  he  should  have  especially  interposed  to  create 
him  ?  Whom  he  did  create  and  does  perpetuate  by 
mysteriously  preserving  the  equality  of  the  sexes,  and 
by  providing  the  resources  of  food  and  raiment,  is  it  ex- 
traordinary that  he  should  mentally  and  spiritually 
guide  ?  All  things  tell  us  that  God  hath  done  all  things 
well,  and  nothing  in  vain.  He  has  endowed  the  moral 
nature,  and  gives  the  spiritual  discernment  and  impulse  to 


DIVINE  INTERCESSION. 


prayer.  Shall  he  then  clothe  the  lily  in  its  beauty,  and 
give  to  all  vital  nature  the  impulse  and  direction  appro- 
priate to  its  prescribed  development,  and  yet  shall  He  not 
inspire  the  grateful  heart  in  its  worship  and  praise  to 
Him  ?  Yes,  truly,  "  the  preparation  of  the  heart  in 
man  and  the  answer  of  the  tongue  are  from  the  Lord." 
He  is  that  "  friend  that  sticketh  closer  than  a  brother." 
To  whom  then  He  bids  to  knock,  will  he  not  open  the 
door  ?  to  whom  to  implore  will  He  not  give  ?  Of  Him 
that  knoweth  what  things  we  have  need  of  before  we  ask, 
shall  we  not  "  find  grace  to  help  in  time  of  need  ?"  It 
is  true  He  must  be  the  Judge  of  what  we  need,  and  we 
shall  not  receive  what  we  unwisely  ask ;  but  asking  in 
submission  to  His  will,  shall  ever  receive  contentment 
and  peace,  and  attain  that  condition  wherein  best  we 
deserve  and  are  most  certain  to  receive  suggestion  and 
aid  for  our  relief  and  well-being.  Then  it  is  we  most 
certainly  come  into  a  conformity  with  the  Divine  will,  and 
into  the  condition  best  to  subserve  human  happiness. 
Then  it  is  that  the  disturbing  interests  and  passions  be- 
come allayed,  the  understanding  cleared,  and  the  voice  of 
wisdom  is  heard,  inevitably  suggestive  of  improvement, 
safety,  and  happiness;  and  then  it  is  that  assailing 
temptations  vanish,  as  evil  spirits  into  their  dark  abodes, 
the  soul  becomes  purified,  and  the  apprehensive  anxiety 
ever  mingling  in  our  mysterious  existence  is  appeased, 
and  we  come  to  know  a  reconciliation  with  our  Heavenly 


CORRECTIVE  EXPERIENCE. 


95 


Father.  Then  in  another  and  happier  sense  we  find 
verified  the  pristine  declaration  of  Jehovah,  "  My  spirit 
shall  not  always  strive  with  man but  strive  it  ever 
assuredly  will,  so  long  as  aught  exists  at  variance  with  it, 
until  there  be  a  submission  and  conformity,  or  the  lost 
soul  becomes  hardened  and  deaf  to  the  voice  of  Divine 
instruction.  For  those  who  have  "  tasted  the  good  word 
of  God  and  of  the  powers  of  the  world  to  coine,"  may 
"fall  awa}T,"  not  "  to  renew  them  again  uuto  repentance. " 

Have  the  preceding  views  been  unduly  extended,  or 
indeed  wholly  misplaced  ?  They  have  appeared  to  the 
writer  to  be  applicable  for  the  correction  of  a  too  preva- 
lent tendency  of  the  learned  mind,  and  to  be  a  just  ac- 
knowledgment to  the  wisdom  of  the  parental  solicitude, 
after  the  experience  and  reflection  furnished  by  maturity 
of  years,  by  one  who  was  the  object  of  their  deep  con- 
cern and  anxiety.  The  truthful  beauty  and  efficacy  of 
their  faith,  by  time  and  experience,  have  become  more 
convincingly  apparent.  This  corrective  experience  has 
in  a  degree  involved  the  task  of  unlearning  what  had  been 
learned,  and  of  retracing  the  divergent  steps  to  come  to  the 
more  simple  path  from  whence  the  departure  was  taken. 
It  is  a  retrograde  course  that  philosophy  and  learning  are 
ever  compelled  to  take,  to  test  elaborate  and  overwrought 
theory  by  that  which  is  unsophisticated,  unbiassed,  and 
simply  truthful.  When  the  pride  of  learning  has  over- 
looked and  travelled  beyond  the  simple  evidences  of  truth 


96 


CORRECTIVE  EXPERIENCE. 


within  the  mind,  and  a  literal  theology  has  darkened 
knowledge  and  disregarded  the  very  fountain  of  true 
religious  faith  and  experience — a  recurrence  to  a  simpler 
test  becomes  necessary ;  and  this  service  the  Society  of 
Friends  rendered  to  the  world  in  its  rise  and  subsequent 
existence.  It  called  upon  mankind  to  turn  their  minds 
inward  to  observe  the  manifestations  of  truth  and  wisdom, 
there  to  be  perceived,  felt,  and  understood,  with  the  cer- 
tainty of  sensation,  and  the  clearness  of  a  self-evident 
proposition,  showing,  by  a  light  always  at  hand,  a  way  so 
clearly  that  even  the  simple  may  find  and  not  err  therein. 
The  sincere  and  honest  mind  could  never  find  it  difiicult 
to  distinguish  the  presence  and  pervasive  influence  of 
feelings  and  thoughts  infused  in  every  crisis  restraining 
from  evil,  from  those  of  an  opposing  nature,  betraying 
into  the  besetting  temptation.  The  difficulty  ever  was  to 
draw  the  attention  of  men  from  the  attractions  and  dis- 
turbance of  outward  and  worldly  influences,  from  agitat- 
ing passions  and  deceptive  reasonings,  to  an  observance 
of  this  simple  but  purest  and  sublimest  source  of  teach- 
ing, which,  if  faithfully  begun  and  persevered  in,  with  a 
just  fidelity  to  its  manifestations,  and  a  proper  regard  to 
their  own  happiness,  would  be  found  to  experience  a  larger 
growth,  obtain  a  predominance  and  victory  over  gross  and 
earthly  propensities,  and  productive  of  feelings  and 
thoughts  so  elevated  and  enlightened  as  to  be  in  them- 
selves a  source  of  inexpressible  satisfaction,  and  thus 


SPIRITUAL  WORSHIP.  97 

minister  to  the  soul  the  evidences  of  a  Divine  approval 
and  authority. 

A  rigid  and  sceptical  philosophy  will  call  this  expe- 
rience but  an  enthusiastic  feeling :  it  is,  nevertheless,  a 
reality,  in  itself  happiness,  instructive  in  the  highest  in- 
telligence, and  has  all,  and  more  than  all,  of  the  evidence 
that  is  the  basis  of  philosophical  demonstration.  It  is 
evidenced  by  consciousness,  by  the  deductions  of  the 
rational  power  of  the  understanding,  by  its  good  fruits, 
and  more  than  earthly  felicity.  Those  who  have  this 
happy  experience  "  have  tasted  of  the  heavenly  gift," 
and  learned  that  of  a  certainty  "the  true  worshippers 
shall  worship  the  Father  in  spirit  and  in  truth."  This 
heavenly  teaching  and  spiritual  worship  is  a  source  of 
instruction  alike  open  to  the  illiterate  and  the  learned ; 
for  to  all,  in  the  infinite  beneficence  of  the  Almighty 
Father,  a  portion  of  His  blessed  spirit  is  imparted,  in 
measure  sufficient,  if  obeyed,  to  lead  into  righteousness, 
to  interpret  the  Holy  Scriptures,  lend  to  their  perusal  a 
holy  joy,  and  unerringly  guide  into  His  everlasting  rest. 
This  belief,  and  this  alone,  can  keep  the  mind  directed 
heavenward,  and  its  rejection,  to  set  it  towards  a  mate- 
rial philosophy,  that  is  u  of  the  earth,  earthy,"  that 
must  bring  it  to  a  spiritual  death,  and  the  sacrifice  of  the 
most  exalted  affections  and  aspirations  of  the  human 
soul.  All  that  there  is  of  pleasure  in  appetites  and  pro- 
pensities repressed  and  supplanted  by  this  Heavenly 
9 


98  DIVINE  INSPIRATION. 

influence,  is  more  than  compensated  here  on  earth  by  the 
pure  and  holy  joy  it  dispenses  at  all  times  and  in  all 
places,  whether  in  the  busy  throngs  of  the  world's  pro- 
gressions, or  in  the  silence  of  solitude  and  night,  whilst 
the  blessed  promises  for  the  future  life  are  illimitably 
consoling  and  beatific.  The  innocent  and  the  good  alone 
are  happy,  but  most  truly  so  when  man  fully  enjoys  his 
pre-eminent  privilege  to  love  and  adore  his  Creator.  This 
most  exalted  service  of  the  human  mind,  neither  rejects 
nor  disparages  any  intellectual  faculty,  but,  in  deep 
humility,  every  holy  feeling  and  every  power  of  the 
understanding  is  submissively  engaged  in  the  adoration 
of  the  Infinite  in  power  and  wisdom. 

That  the  vicious  should  disbelieve  in  the  intercession 
of  the  spirit  of  God,  and  in  His  divine  inspiration,  is 
natural,  for  they  will  stifle  that  which  whets  the  conscience 
to  turn  its  sharpened  edge  upon  all  their  iniquity.  That 
philosophers  should  doubt,  proceeds  from  another  and  too 
exclusive  occupation  and  reliance  of  the  mind,  withdraw- 
ing its  attention  from  a  watchful  perception  of  and  sub- 
mission to  Grod's  best  gift  to  man,  in  its  cherished  growth 
constituting  man's  highest  excellence  and  perfection  of 
character.  But  that  professing  Christians  and  Christian 
teachers  should  call  in  question  this  great  saving  Truth, 
without  which  all  religion  loses  its  vitality,  is  matter  of 
marvel,  and  only  to  be  comprehended  in  the  admission 
of  the  fact  that  such  outward  and  literal  views  are  taken 


DIVINE  INSPIRATION. 


99 


by  them  as  to  turn  the  perception  and  intellect  from  the 
true  source  of  Divine  enlightenment  and  religious  convic- 
tion. The  Scriptures  assure  us  of  the  visitations  of  the 
spirit  of  the  Almighty  to  the  souls  of  men  in  ancient 
days  j  that  it  strove  with  man  ;  that  "  in  the  beginning 
was  the  "Word — and  the  Word  was  God :"  He  raised  up 
prophets  in  all  ages,  and  they  addressed  themselves  to  that 
which  was  spiritual  in  man.  He  declared  to  Israel,  "  I 
will  pour  my  spirit  on  thy  seed."  Has  the  human  race, 
then,  become  less  the  object  of  Divine  regard  ?  Did 
Christianity  introduce  a  less  spiritual  dispensation  ?  or 
did  it  more  especially  and  emphatically  call  man  to  a 
recognition  of  the  spiritual  coming  of  Christ  again  ?  It 
declares,  "  A  man  can  receive  nothing  unless  it  be  given 
him  of  Heaven."  "  Unto  every  one  of  us  is  given  grace, 
according  to  the  measure  of  the  gift  of  Christ."  And 
J esus  said,  "  I  will  pray  the  Father,  and  he  shall  give  you 
another  comforter,  that  he  may  abide  with  you  for  ever 
u  the  spirit  of  Truth  will  guide  you  into  all  Truth 
and  thus  the  Xew  Testament  abounds  in  blessed  promises. 
The  kingdom  of  God  is  declared  to  be  within ;  and  that 
without  a  new  birth,  man  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God. 
He  must  be  born  of  the  spirit,  "  and  that  which  is  born 
of  the  spirit  is  spirit."  This  regeneration  then  comes  of 
God,  and  is  the  manifestation  of  His  Holy  spirit  upon 
the  soul  of  man.  But  wherefore,  unless  He  can  change 
the  disposition  of  the  heart,  inspire  holier  feelings  and 


100 


IRRELIGIOUS  PHILOSOPHY. 


infuse  better  thoughts,  and  thus  speak  to  and  inspire 
man's  highest  intelligence  and  guide  his  course  on  earth? 
If  there  be  a  spark  of  religion  in  the  human  breast,  it  is 
there  Divinely  lighted,  and  for  a  holy  purpose.  It  must 
enlighten  and  direct.  It  must  do  so  as  needed ;  and  will, 
as  the  star  of  night,  guide  the  voyager  in  life  in  the  hour 
of  trouble,  darkness,  and  peril,  if  he  will  but  turn  to  it 
with  faith  and  hope.  "  This  God  is  our  God,  for  ever 
and  ever  j  he  will  be  our  guide  even  unto  death." 

This  subject  has  not  been  dwelt  upon  without  ample 
knowledge  of  the  occasion  for  it.  It  was  the  deep  con- 
cern of  devoted  parents,  and  it  is  fitting  that  it  should  be 
transmitted,  as  perhaps  the  most  valuable  legacy  of  the 
writer  to  his  own  children.  The  world  has  recently  been 
shocked  by  the  annunciation  that  even  cultivated  woman, 
forgetful  of  what  seems  almost  the  instincts  of  her  better 
nature,  disclaims  that  Gospel  that  alone  has  given  her 
station  and  elevation ;  nay,  atheistically  rejects  a  God, 
and  resolves  all  nature  into  "  a  system  of  ever  working 
forces,  producing  forms,  uniform  in  certain  lines  and 
largely  various  in  the  whole,  and  all  under  the  operation 
of  immutable  law."  In  her  philosophy,  all  revelation — 
all  spiritual  influence,  is  a  delusion  j  all  prayer  is  power- 
less, weakness,  and  folly.  But  who  established  this  im- 
mutable law,  and  empowered  it  to  fashion  all  things  in 
admirable  beauty  of  design  and  perfection,  is  not  explain- 
ed.  Did  an  immutable  law  produce  those  "  forms/'  and 


IRRELIGIOUS  PHILOSOPHY.  101 

breathe  into  them  life  ?  Did  inert  matter,  by  a  sponta- 
neous working  force,  take  upon  itself  motion,  and  life, 
and  thought  ?  or  did  one  living  species  produce  another  ? 
All  observation  has  shown  that  one  species  cannot  gene- 
rate another,  and  that  each,  in  infinite  number,  was  the 
object  of  the  special  interpositions  of  the  Creative  Power. 
Indeed,  all  life,  in  all  its  processes,  can  only  be  referred 
to  the  continuing  action  of  creative  power — no  philoso- 
phy sounds  its  mysterious  depth.  That  Book  of  the  Al- 
mighty, to  whose  printed  pages,  at  least,  this  unsexed 
philosopher  will  give  her  credence — the  long-treasured 
archives  of  geology — would  appear  to  show  many  succes- 
sive interpositions  to  place  differing  species  of  animals  on 
earth. 

But  such  a  philosophy  finds  its  condemnation  in  the 
inherent  repulsion  of  the  human  mind  itself.  The  mind 
is  formed  to  infer  and  believe  that  all  things  made  in 
transcendent  beauty  and  perfection,  have  had  a  beneficent 
and  intelligent  Author ;  and  those  who  falter  in  this  be- 
lief, are  illogical  exceptions  to  the  Divine  purpose.  It  is 
formed  to  admire  the  manifestations  of  the  Divine  wisdom 
and  power,  and  to  love,  worship,  and  adore  a  Supreme 
Intelligence  ;  and  when  it  fails  in  this,  its  error  is  demon- 
strated in  a  failure  to  attain  its  own  highest  excellence 
and  truest  happiness.  Thus  the  test  of  experience  falsi- 
fies the  philosophy.    If,  indeed,  all  results  proceed  from 

material  causes,  under  self-existent  laws  of  uniform  ope- 

9* 


102    SCHOLASTIC  LEARNING  DISTRUSTED. 

ration,  then  must  we  but  worship  matter,  and  yet  blindly 
bow  down  in  heathen  idolatry.  Then  must  there  be  no 
spiritual  future,  no  continuous  identity  of  being,  no 
righteousness  nor  sin,  no  virtue  nor  crime.  Then  is 
man's  freedom  coercion,  his  choice  a  necessity ;  and  all 
matter,  all  life,  all  mind,  have  been  predestined  by  laws 
of  blind  physical  compulsion.  This  necessary  reduction 
flagrantly  exposes  the  falsity  of  the  premises.  It  is  the 
extreme  of  incongruity  to  assume  that  mind  can  originate 
from  matter.  Intelligence  alone  can  produce  intelligence; 
and  the  human  soul  ever  owns  the  divinity  of  its  source 
in  its  lofty  desires  and  devotional  aspirations. 

The  error  of  such  a  theory  is,  however,  the  less  dan- 
gerous, since  the  mind  by  an  instinctive  dread  shrinks 
from  its  adoption.  But  there  is  a  more  insidious  danger 
that  has  always  produced  a  watchful  distrust  in  Friends. 
It  is  the  philosophy  of  the  schools  as  taught  from  stand- 
ard works  of  approved  character;  and  a  system  of  in- 
struction that  developes  the  intellect  more  than  it  culti- 
vates the  affections  of  the  heart.  Turn,  for  instance,  to 
the  work  of  Locke  on  the  Understanding,  ascribing  all 
ideas  to  the  sources  of  sensation  and  reflection,  with  so 
rigid  a  severity,  as  to  leave  but  the  conclusion  that  the 
spirit  of  piety  and  a  divine  inspiration  into  the  minds  of 
men  is  but  a  delusive  enthusiasm  or  hallucination  of 
the  enkindled  imagination.  Though  himself  a  Christian 
professor,  and  making  no  ostensible  attack  upon  religion, 


SCHOLASTIC  LEARNING  DISTRUSTED.  103 


the  tendency  of  his  principal  work  is  to  encourage  the 
philosophy  of  materialism,  and  is  accordingly  so  cited 
and  relied  upon.  To  look  to  its  practical  effects,  no  one 
can  doubt  that,  if  fully  adopted,  it  must  quench  those 
feelings  and  chill  that  fervour  from  which  great  actions 
and  exalted  character  usually  spring.  If  George  Fox 
could  in  his  youth  have  read  the  then  unwritten  work  of 
his  great  contemporary,  when  first  visited  by  those  strong 
impressions  —  "that  day-spring  from  on  high" — that 
decided  the  course  and  character  of  his  momentous  life, 
and  had  adopted  its  conclusions,  his  religious  ardour  and 
indomitable  resolution  would  have  been  for  ever  repressed, 
and  his  glorious  mission  been  lost  to  mankind.  The 
characters  of  these  two  great  men  cannot  be  compared  by 
the  strong  contrasts  of  the  lights  and  shades  that  dis- 
criminate the  good  and  the  bad  j  but  by  their  apprecia- 
tion of  the  enjoyment  and  value  of  life  as  tested  by  the 
final  and  truthful  testimony  that  ends  all  experience,  let 
us  judge  which  of  two  good  men  had  the  truest  view  of 
the  purpose  and  destiny  of  G-od's  crowning  work  of  crea- 
tion. The  philosopher,  when  he  last  received  the  sacra- 
ment "with  fervour  and  piety,"  declared  it  as  his  final 
testimony,  "  That  life  appeared  to  him  mere  vanity." 
The  preacher  and  reformer,  when  in  the  portal  of  death, 
opening  to  the  vista  of  heavenly  light  and  glory,  whis- 
pered to  surrounding  friends  his  still  progressive  and 
triumphing  experience — "All  is  well:  the  seed  of  God 


104  PHILOSOPHY  OF  LOCKE. 

reigns  over  all,  and  over  death  itself.  The  power  of  God 
is  over  all,  and  the  seed  reigns  over  all  disorderly  spirits." 
"He  died/'  says  Penn,  an  attendant  witness,  "rejoicing 
in  the  hope  of  the  Gospel,"  and  must  have  felt  that  life 
to  him  had  been  full  of  deepest  import,  and  himself  the 
gifted  instrument  of  inappreciable  service  to  mankind. 
He  must  have  felt,  as  he  had  ever  most  earnestly  preached, 
that  the  lives  of  all  are  of  momentous  significance,  as  their 
tenor  might  influence  human  welfare  on  earth,  or  deter- 
mine their  future  happiness  or  wo.  If,  indeed,  the  end  of 
this  life  ended  all  things  to  individual  consciousness,  then, 
truly,  life  would  "  appear  to  be  mere  vanity  f  its  mingled 
draughts  of  joys  and  sorrows  not  worth  the  tasting;  its 
scope  and  end  without  ennobling  purpose  or  adequate  de- 
sign. But,  regarded  in  reference  to  its  immortal  destiny, 
and  its  sojourn  here  as  a  stage  of  probationary  trial,  every 
emotion  and  experience  of  life  but  manifests  creative 
wisdom  *  happiness  and  joy  are  the  gifts  of  His  beneficent 
bounty  j  pain  and  sorrow  the  vindications  of  His  violated 
laws,  or  the  purifying  preparations  for  the  felicity  of 
heaven. 

The  briefest  summary  of  the  philosophy  of  Locke,  is, 
that  there  are  no  innate  ideas ;  that  all  ideas  are  derived 
by  sensation,  through  the  external  senses,  and  by  reflec- 
tion, or  the  mind's  own  elaborations  of  the  previously 
perceived  sensations.  The  materialists  thence  infer  that 
as  sensation  is  owing  to  organized  life,  and  the  ideas  that 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  LOCKE. 


105 


constitute  thought  and  mind  are  thence  derived;  so  these 
depend  upon  the  material  organization,  and  must  cease 
with  its  dissolution.  But  their  fallacy  is  in  overlooking 
the  fact  that  it  is  something  else  than  the  material  senses 
that  receives  and  acts  upon  the  perceived  sensation  j  that 
without  the  percipient  mind  had  been  first  placed  in  the 
organized  body,  no  sensation  could  be  conducted  to  it ;  that 
its  presence  must  precede  the  first  and  faintest  perception 
of  even  foetal  infancy.  That  capacity  must  be  innate,  and, 
with  the  gift  of  life,  come  from  the  Creator.  Then,  again, 
the  power  of  the  percipient  mind  to  act  upon  the  perceived 
sensations,  to  compare,  combine,  analyze,  infer,  reason, 
and  reflect,  whence  comes  it  ?  Certainly  not  from  the 
external  sensations ;  these  are  but  channels  of  informa- 
tion to  the  pre-existent  mental  capacity,  but  not  them- 
selves creative  of  that  capacity;  they  may  enrich  its 
resources,  but  are  not  itself.  The  image  of  external  ob- 
jects pictured  on  the  retina  of  the  eye,  the  sounds  that 
vibrate  on  the  tympanum  of  the  ear,  nor  yet  the  impres- 
sions made  upon  the  sense  of  smell,  the  taste,  or  touch, 
reach  the  mind  in  material  essence  \  neither  can  the  men- 
tal perception  or  thoughts  evolved  be  material  products. 
The  nerves  that  serve  the  senses,  and  again  obey  the  will, 
transmit  no  material  thing  to  be  perceived  or  constitute 
thought.  And  again,  there  are  feelings,  affections,  hopes, 
fears,  passions,  and  emotions,  inherent  in  the  human  con- 
stitution, perceived  of  the  mind,  productive  of  thought, 


10(3    TRUE  LEARNING  NOT  DEPRECIATED. 

determinative  of  conduct  and  character.  These,  as  well 
as  the  intellect,  give  to  man  his  elevation  above  all  the 
rest  of  animated  nature.  His  religious  susceptibility — 
his  spiritual  perception — it  is  that  make  him  sensitive  to 
the  breathings  of  Divine  Love,  and  bring  him  into  the 
presence  and  under  the  operative  teachings  of  the  Spirit 
of  God.  .  These  precious  visitations  of  grace  to  the  soul 
are  as  gratefully  felt  and  certainly  heard,  as  by  the  out- 
ward sensation  the  breeze  that  stirs  the  leafy  grove,  or 
wakes  the  iEolian  chord  to  music ;  but,  it  may  also  be, 
to  the  guilty  conscience,  that  His  voice  shall  be  heard  as 
in  the  storm  and  in  the  thunder  of  His  lightnings.  Yet 
is  it  the  voice  of  God,  whether  heard  in  vindicatory  pu- 
nishment, or  in  whisperings  of  peace  and  comfort  to  the 
contrite  and  repentant,  or  when  prompting  to  missions 
of  blessed  charities  and  Gospel  love.  All  that  is  good 
must  come  from  the  Source  of  all  goodness,  whether  in 
disciplinary  correction  or  in  the  overflow  of  the  fountain 
of  goodness  and  mercy. 

Let  it  be  understood,  however,  that  Friends  do  not  dis- 
courage the  acquisition  of  knowledge  to  any  extent  that 
the  human  capacity  can  truthfully  develope  it.  It  is 
only  when  the  incessant  occupation,  or  the  sceptical  spirit 
in  which  it  may  be  pursued,  tends  to  obstruct  the  growth 
of  the  precious  seed  of  religious  faith  and  feeling  in  the 
heart,  that  the  pursuit  is  discountenanced.  They  fear 
not  but  that  every  truthful  disclosure  of  the  operations 


TRUE  LEARNING  NOT  DEPRECIATED.  107 

of  nature  will  reveal  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  the 
Creator,  and,  rightly  understood,  will  prompt  the  tribute 
of  praise  and  adoration  to  Him.  Philosophy  then  be- 
comes the  handmaid  of  religion,  and  ministers  to  a  more 
exalted  demonstration ;  expels  from  an  impure  and  unin- 
telligent faith  its  superstitions  and  weakness,  and  permits 
the  unclouded  understanding  to  perceive  the  power  and 
majesty  of  the  Creator,  and  the  heart  of  devotion  to  wor- 
ship in  the  confiding  faith  of  the  goodness  and  mercy  of 
God.  But  philosophy,  without  religion,  is  to  the  moral 
and  religious  susceptibilities,  what  the  arctic  snows  are  to 
the  world,  the  blighting  cause  of  a  perpetual  sterility ; 
but  with  religion's  warmth  and  genial  feelings  as  the  tem- 
perate zones,  equally  distant  from  the  icy  coldness  of  un- 
belief and  the  scorching  heats  of  fanatic  zeal  and  perse- 
cution, clothing  life  and  character  with  consistency  and 
beauty,  and  productive  of  blessed  fruits.  Light  and 
knowledge,  as  means  intrusted,  will  enhance  the  respon- 
sibility of  a  faithful  stewardship,  but  without  vital 
warmth  and  earnest  purpose,  in  religious  faith  and  Chris- 
tian charities,  cannot  save.  The  faithless  to  these  high 
gifts  bury  even  the  ten  talents  intrusted  for  improve- 
ment and  increase,  and  from  such  even  that  he  hath  shall 
be  taken  away. 

Men  of  the  highest  range  of  thought  and  success  in 
philosophical  attainment,  have  pursued  their  studies 
under  the  influence  of  a  devout  and  prayerful  spirit. 


108  TRUE  LEARNING  DEVOTIONAL. 

When  the  great  task  of  forming  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States  hung  in  suspense  from  the  prevalence  of 
discordant  views,  the  venerable  Franklin  moved  that  the 
favour  of  Heaven  should  be  invoked,  and  the  differences 
were  composed.  Sir  Humphry  Davy,  in  describing  the 
qualifications  of  one  so  materially  engaged  as  the  chemi- 
cal philosopher,  says — "  his  mind  should  always  be  awake 
to  devotional  feeling ;  and  in  contemplating  the  variety 
and  beauty  of  the  external  world,  and  developing  its 
scientific  wonders,  he  will  always  refer  to  that  Infinite 
Wisdom,  through  whose  beneficence  he  is  permitted  to 
enjoy  knowledge.  He  will  rise  at  once  in  the  scale  of 
intellectual  and  moral  existence ;  his  increased  sagacity 
will  be  subservient  to  a  more  exalted  faith,  and  in  propor- 
tion as  the  veil  becomes  thinner  through  which  he  sees 
the  causes  of  things,  he  will  admire  more  and  more  the 
brightness  of  the  Divine  Light,  by  which  they  are  ren- 
dered visible. "  Dr.  Rush,  in  the  same  spirit,  entered 
upon  his  Inquiry  into  the  Diseases  of  the  Mind — as  if 
"  about  to  tread  on  consecrated  ground/'  and  thus  pray- 
erfully begins  the  task,  "  I  am  aware  of  its  difficulty  and 
importance,  and  I  thus  implore  that  Being,  whose  govern- 
ment extends  to  the  thoughts  of  all  his  creatures,  so  to 
direct  mine,  in  this  arduous  undertaking,  that  nothing 
hurtful  to  my  fellow  citizens  may  fall  from  my  pen,  and 
that  this  work  may  be  the  means  of  lessening  a  portion 
of  some  of  the  greatest  evils  of  human  life."    And  in 


RELIGION  OF  THE  HEART. 


109 


describing  the  character  of  Dr.  Sydenham,  Dr.  Rush 
declares — "  I  am  disposed  to  ascribe  to  his  sublime  and 
just  conceptions  of  the  Deity,  much  of  that  force  and 
extent  of  mind  which  enabled  him  to  produce  a  revolution 
in  medicine. " 

It  is  apparent  that  piety  and  religion  involve  an  expe- 
rience of  emotions  and  feelings  different  from  the  abstract 
deductions  of  the  faculties  of  the  understanding.  It  is 
also  evident  that  the  results  of  the  inward  teaching  of  the 
Gospel,  commanding  also  the  service  of  the  mental  facul- 
ties, immeasurably  transcend  all  that  mankind  had  before 
attained.  At  the  Christian  era,  the  Greeks  had  reached 
the  highest  civilization  and  knowledge  of  any  people  on 
earth  j  but  the  Apostle  Paul  found  them  superstitiously 
worshipping  gods  "  dwelling  in  temples  made  with  hands." 
Him  whom  they  darkly  perceived  and  ignoranthy  wor- 
shipped, and  to  whom  they  had  erected  an  altar  with  this 
inscription,  "  To  the  Unknown  God,"  he  declared  unto 
them  as  the  a  God  that  made  the  world  and  all  things 
therein,"  and  admonished  them  athat  they  should  seek 
the  Lord,  if  haply  they  might  feel  after  him,  and  find  him, 
though  he  be  not  far  from  every  one  of  us."  Their 
philosophy  had  given  them  but  an  obscure  idea  of  this 
the  "  only  true  God,"  and  they  knew  as  little  of  "  the 
words  of  eternal  life,"  as  Pilate,  when  he  asked  our 
Saviour,  under  trial  before  him,  "  What  is  truth?"  But 

let  the  fruits  determine  how  much  the  Gospel  first  com- 
10 


110 


RELIGION  OF  THE  HEART. 


mitted  to  ignorant  fishermen  transcended  the  highest 
attainments  of  the  most  enlightened  and  acute  philosophy 
the  world  had  afforded.  Socrates,  the  wisest  and  best  of 
the  Greeks,  had  a  vague  idea  of  an  attendant  spirit,  but 
all  superstitiously  worshipped  fancied  deities  represented 
in  wood  and  stone;  degrading  practices  and  revolting 
crimes  pervaded  the  heathen  world,  and  their  philosophy 
made  no  approach  to  the  sublime  and  effective  Truth  as 
taught  by  Jesus,  and  brought  home  to  the  severest  test 
of  the  highest  sincerity  of  feeling.  His  disciples  and 
followers  were  required  to  do  unto  others  as  they  would 
be  done  unto ;  they  were  not  to  yield  to  even  an  imagi- 
native impurity ;  and  as  they  prayed  in  truthful  sincerity 
to  an  all-seeing  God,  in  the  hope  to  be  forgiven,  were 
they  to  forgive  all  others,  though  enemies,  their  trans- 
gressions ;  to  do  good  for  evil  \  and  to  love  even  those 
that  hated  them.  No  merely  human  philosophy  of  man's 
intellect  could  have  soared  to  results  so  sublimely  pure, 
so  authoritatively  self-exacting.  And  it  is  through  devo- 
tional and  holy  feelings,  and  the  Divine  grace  and  inspi- 
ration shed  upon  them,  that  such  truths  are  alone  truly 
and  spiritually  discerned,  and  made  fruitful  in  their  appli- 
cation. It  is  thus  a  witness  to  the  truth  is  developed  in 
the  souls  of  men,  answering  to  and  appreciative  of  the 
numberless  truths  set  forth  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  that 
will  the  most  effectively  set  at  nought  all  cavilling  at 
their  authenticity.    Nothing  can  be  more  true  than  the 


MAN  AN  IMPERFECT  MEDIUM.  Ill 


great  moral  precepts  and  religious  doctrines  there  recorded, 
as  tested  by  all  fair  experience  and  reflection  j  nothing 
elsewhere  so  purifying,  exalting,  and  redeeming  from  sin 
and  corruption  ;  nothing  so  satisfying  and  consolatory  to 
the  human  soul,  as  the  Life  and  Immortality  of  the 
Gospel. 

The  circumspection  of  one  now  commemorated,  all  of 
whose  mature  life  was  engaged  in  the  service  of  an  elder 
of  the  Church,  admonishes  me  not  to  pass  from  this 
serious  subject  without  the  cautionary  explanation  re- 
quired by  truth  and  experience.  While  fully  acknow- 
ledging the  perfect  purity  and  truthfulness  of  the  Divine 
light  shed  upon  the  souls  of  men,  Friends  are  fully  sen- 
sible of  the  imperfections  of  human  nature,  and  how 
greatly  an  imperfect  medium  of  transmission  may  refract, 
tinge,  and  discolour  the  rays  of  ineffable  brightness.  The 
capacity  to  receive  is  limited;  the  range  of  thought  is 
bounded  j  passion  may  disturb,  interest  bias,  self-will  mis- 
lead, superstition  cloud,  sin  taint,  and  disease  discolour ; 
and  that  which  descended  in  the  purity  of  light  become 
mixed,  perverted,  darkened,  and  lost.  Of  these  disturb- 
ing causes,  Friends  have  ever  been  and  must  ever  be 
watchful;  but  exceptional  occurrences  cannot  justly  be 
seized  upon  by  those  of  differing  faith,  to  draw  in  ques- 
tion that  Fountain  of  Light  which  is  as  essential  to  the 
moral  and  religious  well-being  of  man  as  the  sun  to  the 
physical  world.    Misguided  zeal  and  wild  enthusiasm 


112 


COMMUNISM. 


may  run  into  extravagance ;  or  the  life  of  religion  may 
be  lost  in  cold  and  formal  observances ;  unauthorized  pro- 
phecy may  disappoint  or  be  the  unhappy  cause  of  its  own 
fulfilment )  and  disobedience  lead  into  error  and  utter 
darkness ;  but  the  light  of  Truth  remains  for  ever  the 
same,  and  those  who  will  receive  it  with  purity  of  heart, 
and  unperverted  and  unclouded  intellect,  will  find  in  it 
the  perfection  of  wisdom  both  to  enlighten  the  under- 
standing and  regulate  the  conduct.  Instead  of  arrogating 
a  claim  to  infallibility,  no  Christian  people  are  more  con- 
stantly wary  and  apprehensive  of  man's  inherent  infirmi- 
ties and  liability  to  misapprehend,  to  err,  or  fall  away 
from  an  humble  dependence  upon  the  true  Guide;  but 
the  delinquencies  of  the  erring  and  unfaithful  cannot 
justly  bring  into  question  Truth  itself. 

In  the  freedom  of  transition  required  by  the  progress 
of  the  Memoir,  I  proceed  to  other  subjects. 

In  the  year  1825,  Robert  Owen,  whose  establishment 
at  New  Lanark,  Scotland,  in  copartnership  with  William 
Allen,  and  other  well-known  philanthropists,  gave  him 
a  favourable  introduction  in  America,  undertook  to  esta- 
blish a  pattern  community  in  New  Harmony,  Illinois. 
Some  near  and  dear  to  our  parents,  were  induced  by 
benevolent  considerations,  to  join  the  settlement ;  but 
not  without  deep  concern  and  apprehension  on  their  part 
for  the  result,  The  29th  of  7  mo.,  1825,  P.  Price  writes, 
"  The  more  1  reflect  on  the  subject,  the  more  I  am  con- 


COM  MUXISM. 


113 


vinced  of  the  delusion,  and  that  it  will  end  in  disappoint- 
ment and  ruin.  I  am  more  and  more  convinced  that  the 
foundation  is  laid  in  the  sand  and  it  cannot  stand."  Just 
one  year  thereafter,  in  answer  to  a  communication 
announcing  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  parties  referred  to, 
he  speaks  of  the  result  as  expected,  and  as  a  system 
"  established  upon  a  foundation  to  be  compared  to  a 
quicksand,  that  the  more  they  built  on  it  the  deeper  it 
would  sink.  It  is  utterly  impracticable  to  form  a  com- 
munity that  shall  unite  in  promoting  each  others'  happi- 
ness, without  pure  Christian  principles  of  the  greatest 
simplicity.  It  is  in  vain  to  say  that  all  Christian  religious 
sects  are  in  error,  and  therefore  there  must  be  something 
more  substantial  to  build  upon.  Although  there  may  be 
a  large  proportion  of  professors  who  are  not  strictly 
governed  by  those  pure  principles,  yet  I  trust  there  are 
many  endeavouring  with  strict  integrity  to  follow  the 
Captain  of  their  salvation.  The  error  is  not  in  the  prin- 
ciple, but  in  the  conduct  of  those  who  do  not  submit  to  be 
governed  by  it.  The  example  of  the  truly  upright  fol- 
lowers of  a  crucified  Saviour,  has  a  powerful  influence  on 
society,  and  generally  restraining  power.  When  I  con- 
sider what  would  be  the  effect  of  R.  O.'s  opinions,  were 
they  generally  adopted, — that  we  are  the  creatures  of 
circumstances,  and,  therefore,  cannot  be  accountable  for 
our  actions, — having  no  will  of  our  own  to  do  good  or 

bad, — no  governing  principle  of  action,  and,  therefore, 
10  * 


114 


PHILOSOTHY  OF  CIRCUMSTANCES. 


no  fear  of  punishment  for  evil,  or  hope  of  reward  for 
good  actions, — I  am  convinced  it  must  lead  us  back  to  a 
state  far  worse  than  the  dark  and  heathen  ages  of  the 
world,  before  the  Gospel  dispensation. " 

The  concern  of  Rachel  Price,  on  the  same  occasion, 
was  also  expressed  before  the  result  was  known,  substan- 
tially in  these  terms  :  u.  We  feel  a  deep  interest  in  your 
welfare.  You  claim  a  great  portion  of  my  thoughts  and 
desires  for  your  preservation,  by  night  and  by  day, — the 
last  before  I  close  mine  eyes  to  sleep,  and  the  first  when  I 
awake.  Often,  very  often,  when  favoured  with  ability,  is 
the  secret  and  fervent  petition  put  up  to  the  Preserver  of 
men,  on  your  accounts,  that  He  may  be  pleased  to  keep 
you  from  evil,  and  turn  your  hearts  more  fully  to  Him- 
self ) — that  you  may  feel  for  yourselves  the  necessity  of 
Divine  assistance, — to  direct  even  in  outward  concerns. 
But  how  much  more  important  the  well-being  of  the  im- 
mortal soul !  It  is  not  in  man  that  walketh  to  direct  his 
own  steps,  but  the  good  man's  ways  are  ordered  of  the 
Lord.  This  is  my  firm  belief,  from  experiencing  His 
preserving  power  to  be  near  even  from  early  life  to  the 
present  time,  causing  great  uneasiness  when  I  went 
astray,  and  affording  sweet  peace  for  doing  well.  I  am 
also  from  experience  fully  confirmed  in  the  belief  that 
there  are  in  the  mind  two  opposite  spirits  striving  in  us, 
the  one  leading  to  virtue  and  happiness,  the  other  draw 
ing  into  every  kind  of  disorder  and  crime,  consequently 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  CIRCUMSTANCES. 


115 


to  woe  and  misery.  Good  and  evil  are  set  before  us,  and 
we  must  assuredly  have  the  power  of  choice,  and  on 
making  that  choice  wisely  must  depend  our  happiness  in 
this  existence  and  in  that  hereafter.  How  awfully  im- 
portant then  the  consideration ;  and  may  it  sink  deeply 
into  our  minds.  If  persuaded  to  lay  aside  the  belief  of 
free  agency,  we  .-hould.  with  all  our  boasted  knowledge, 
reason,  and  philosophy,  sink  into  mere  machines  to  be 
acted  upon  by  circumstances.  I  acknowledge  that  much 
may  be  done  by  precept  and  example,  in  forming  the 
character  of  youth.  But  there  is  a  power  of  choice  and 
a  free  agency  to  elect  the  course  of  action,  with  a  conse- 
quent accountability ;  and  a  gift  of  Divine  grace  dis- 
pensed to  every  individual  of  the  human  family  for  his 
preservation  and  everlasting  happiness, — leaving  him 
without  excuse  for  disobedience  and  subject  to  the  penalty 
thereof.  I  concur  in  the  opinion  that  there  is  no  effect 
without  its  cause ;  but  that  there  is  a  Great  First  Cause 
of  all  causes  is  evident.  All  the  contrivance,  harmony, 
wisdom,  and  wonders  of  the  universe  proclaim  His  works 
as  the  creation  of  an  all- wise,  omnipotent,  and  omni- 
present Creator. 

It  is  the  Almighty  power  whose  law  connects 

The  eternal  chain  of  causes  and  effects ; 

'Tis  He  who  made  the  eye  and  formed  the  listening  ear, 

To  improve  the  mind  by  what  we  see  and  hear. 


116 


SOCIAL  STRUCTURE. 


"To  other  animals  He  has  given  admirable  instincts  to 
guide  them  :  '  Yea,  the  stork  in  the  heaven  knoweth  her 
appointed  times ;  and  the  turtle,  and  the  crane,  and  the 
swallow,  observe  the  time  of  their  coming/  And  to 
man  He  has  given  reason  and  understanding  for  his 
government  j  but,  above  all,  to  him  is  also  given,  the  free 
gift  of  His  Divine  .grace  and  light,  as  a  guide  through 
life  unto  salvation." 

It  was  found  out  that  this  pattern  community  had 
truly  been  built  upon  a  sandy  foundation,  and  it  sunk  to 
rise  no  more.  The  judgments  of  those  who  had  been 
attracted  to  it  by  delusive  hopes  were  soon  corrected  by 
actual  observation,  and  they  returned  to  the  bosom  of 
general  society,  there  to  pursue  their  avocations  for  their 
individual  profit  and  the  aggregate  advantage.  They 
returned  with  a  valuable  lesson  in  human  experience,  the 
more  firmly  fixed  in  right  principles,  and  the  fervent 
prayers  of  the  righteous  were  accomplished.  It  was 
there  proved,  as  often  before,  and  often  may  be  again, 
that  the  only  reliable  incentive  for  efficient  exertion  for 
man's  maintenance  and  improvement  of  his  condition,  is 
that  of  his  own  interest,  by  securing  to  himself  by  law 
the  complete  protection  of  the  fruits  of  his  own  industry. 
This  alone  will  secure  from  each  individual  the  greatest 
exertion  and  thrift,  and  carry  the  wealth  of  the  commu- 
nity to  the  highest  aggregate  amount.  This  is  the  hope 
of  the  poor  man  as  well  as  of  the  rich,  for  what  worthy 


SOCIAL  STRUCTURE.  117 

and  industrious  poor  man  is  there  that  does  not  expect 
himself  to  realize,  or  that  his  children  may,  property  for 
his  comfort  and  independence  in  age  ?  There  will,  of 
course,  be  cases  of  failure  to  succeed,  and  of  inevitable 
hardships,  but  for  these  society  must  provide  through  her 
taxes,  or  the  benevolent  bestow  their  charities  for  relief. 
The  enterprise  begotten  by  this  principle  of  action,  gives 
a  life  and  energy  that  keeps  the  social  body  in  health 
and  prosperity, — while  communities,  adopting  a  commu- 
nity of  property,  even  where  they  can  be  held  together 
by  some  peculiar  fanaticism  or  religious  profession,  lose 
the  highest  incentive  to  human  effort,  and  comparatively 
stagnate,  become  monotonous,  and  tend  to  extinction.  It 
is  when  man  is  left  free  to  choose  and  exert  his  own 
energies,  under  all  the  varying  vicissitudes  of  society,  as 
it  has  received  its  cast  by  all  time  and  circumstances, 
physical,  moral,  and  religious,  that  he  achieves  his  highest 
success  and  obtains  his  greatest  happiness.  It  is  only 
then  that  life  has  a  variety  that  gives  it  spice,  and  presents 
rewards  to  whet  the  appetite  of  highest  enterprise.  The 
natural  development  of  the  social  arrangement  is  into 
families, — these  smallest  communities  accomplishing  the 
greater  and  better  part  of  education,  government,  and 
protection,  that  maintain  the  order  and  security  of  society; 
and  in  the  domestic  circle,  unfolding  the  most  pleasing 
attributes  and  affections  of  the  human  heart,  delightful 


118  SOCIAL  STRUCTURE. 

for  all  good  men  to  contemplate,  and  God  to  behold, — 
for  "  God  setteth  the  solitary  in  families. " 

The  writer  freely  confesses  that  he  at  the  time  sympa- 
thized with  the  experiment  at  New  Harmony,  so  far  as  it 
promised  a  more  equal  and  just  distribution  of  the  pro- 
ducts of  labour,  and  to  afford  the  labourer  a  better 
opportunity  to  rise  in  the  scale  of  social  improvement, 
and  in  the  acquisition  of  wealth  and  influence.  He 
yet  thinks  that  there  is  a  great  dereliction  of  duty  on  the 
part  of  those  who  legislate  and  have  power  to  regulate 
the  employment  of  labour  in  this  respect.  Those  having 
capital,  skill,  and  influence,  should  be  encouraged,  by  its 
being  made  their  interest,  to  divide  profits  with  those  who 
labour  in  proportion  to  their  successful  exertion  of  skill 
and  industry,  and  incorporated  or  limited  partnership 
manufactories  should  be  put  in  motion,  as  New  England 
whaling  vessels  are  sailed,  for  a  proportionate  benefit  to 
all,  thus  giving  to  all  the  highest  incentive  for  the  exer- 
tion of  the  greatest  thrift,  industry,  and  skill.  But  the 
dividend  of  profit  should  go  to  the  individual  account, 
and  be  felt  and  taken  as  the  separate  resource  of  every 
separate  family,  whose  independent  existence  and  the 
sanctity  of  whose  relations  should  never  be  broken  in 
upon  by  any  earthly  policy. 

It  was  in  advanced  life,  that  the  severest  trials  that 
proved  the  faith,  patience,  and  love  of  the  subjects  of 
this  Memoir,  awaited  them.    The  causes  that  had  for 


DIVISION  OF  FRIENDS. 


119 


some  years  before  been  actively  operative,  brought  the 
difficulties  in  the  Society  of  Friends  to  a  crisis  at  the 
Yearly  Meeting  held  in  Philadelphia,  in  1827.  These 
causes  related  to  doctrines,  and  the  administration  of  the 
disciplinary  affairs  of  the  society.  The  influence  that 
practically  had  guided  the  measures  of  the  society  was  in 
comparatively  a  few,  though  all  members  of  adult  age  were 
admitted  to  its  ordinary  meetings  for  discipline.  All 
there  were  at  equal  liberty  to  express  their  views )  but 
only  those  spoke  with  weight  whose  communications 
carried  with  them  the  evidence  of  a  Divine  qualification 
and  authority,  and  whose  lives  afforded  the  test  of  bear- 
ing good  fruits.  Such  were  recommended  to  the  ministry, 
advanced  to  be  elders,  and  appointed  to  superintend  edu- 
cation, and  to  represent  the  society  in  a  Meeting  for  Suf- 
ferings. These  met  in  select  meetings,  and  were  not 
renewed  by  periodical  appointments,  but  others  were 
added  as  qualification  appeared  to  be  furnished  and  the 
service  required.  The  frequent  meetings  of  these  select 
bodies  afforded  opportunities  of  a  comparison  of  views, 
and  naturally  resulted  in  a  concert  of  opinion  and  action. 
When  the  members  of  the  body  of  the  society  became 
agitated  upon  the  subject  of  doctrines  and  the  steps 
taken  to  check  the  spread  of  those  believed  by  many  to 
be  unsound,  though  thought  by  others  to  be  edifying,  a 
central  influence  was  found  to  prevail  in  Philadelphia, 
and  a  jealousy  arose  through   the   society  that  this 


120 


DIVISION  OF  FRIENDS. 


influence  was  operative  to  prejudge  questions  in  its  gene- 
ral meetings.  Complaints  were  made  that  members  were 
continued  in  the  select  bodies  after  their  useful  service 
had  ceased,  and  after  they  failed  truly  to  represent  the 
views  of  those  who  appointed  them ;  that  the  Meeting  for 
Sufferings  had  attempted  to  impose  a  declaration  of  faith 
contrary  to  the  practice  of  ancient  Friends,  who  had 
avoided  fettering  the  society  with  a  creed ;  and  that  pro- 
minent members  had  unduly  interfered  with  the  progress 
in  his  religious  service  of  an  eminent  minister,  travelling 
under  the  usual  sanction  from  another  yearly  meeting. 
With  those  thus  complained  of,  the  English  ministers 
then  travelling  in  this  country  concurred  in  sentiment, 
and  the  part  they  took  served  to  awaken  a  further  oppo- 
sition by  arousing  the  American  feeling  of  independence 
and  jealousy  of  an  influence  in  the  mother  country.  On 
the  other  hand,  they  that  were  designated  orthodox,  be- 
lieved and  charged  that  doctrines  were  preached  and 
otherwise  promulgated,  that  tended  to  lay  waste  the 
authority  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  to  question  the  divinity 
of  our  Saviour,  his  propitiatory  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of 
mankind  and  mediatorial  advocacy  with  the  Father : 
and  believing  that  the  vital  interests  of  Christianity  were 
at  stake,  felt  justified  by  the  extraordinary  emergency  in 
resorting  to  more  than  usual  measures  and  in  acting 
without  the  accustomed  unity  of  the  members,  which  had 
theretofore  remarkably  characterized  the  movements  of 


DIVISION  OF  FRIENDS.  121 

the  society.  In  fact,  the  bond  of  unity  that  had  consti- 
tuted them  one  society,  had  been  broken,  and  a  forbearing 
condescension  and  united  action  was  not  to  be  expected 
from  distinct  bodies,  acting  under  repelling  influences, 
but  only  that  each  division  should  look  to  its  own  con- 
servation. The  charges  of  unsoundness  in  faith  by  one 
portion  against  the  other,  were  again  generally  denied, 
and  a  conformity  with  the  doctrines  of  the  founders  of 
the  society  averred,  and  that  whatever  charges  of  unsound- 
ness were  applicable  now,  were  only  such  as  were  made 
against  and  applicable  to  ancient  Friends  by  those  from 
whom  they  had  been  gathered  to  unite  as  a  society. 

Each  division  appealed  to  the  writings  of  ancient 
Friends,  to  prove  the  correctness  of  its  opinions,  by  the 
publication  of  numerous  extracts  from  their  writings. 
These  were  convincing  to  the  members  of  each  that  they 
were  standing  on  the  true  foundation,  but  did  not  recon- 
cile those  in  the  opposing  ranks.  Whatever  may  have 
been  the  diversity  of  individual  opinions  among  primitive 
Friends,  the  cementing  power  that  united  them  was  now 
lost ;  and  many  leaders  among  modern  Friends  had  not 
only  inclined  to  opposing  extremes  of  opinion  left  in  the 
writings  of  their  ancestors,  but  under  the  prevailing  ex- 
citement and  distrust,  were  mutually  suspected  and 
charged  by  opponents  as  having  gone  beyond  the  range 
of  opinions  formerly  entertained.    They  might  both,  as 

they  did,  profess  to  believe  in  the  doctrine  of  the  inward 
ll 


122  DIVISION  OF  FRIENDS. 

light,  and  to  support  all  of  the  invaluable  testimonies  of 
the  society;  but  the  bond  of  religious  fellowship  had 
been  severed,  their  love  had  been  replaced  by  distrust 
and  repulsion  of  feeling,  and  they  were  no  longer  united 
by  common  sufferings  inflicted  by  an  intolerent  and  per- 
secuting world. 

Generally  the  minorities  in  the  respective  meetings 
retired  from  the  majority,  and  each  portion  formed  or 
kept  its  connexion  with  the  yearly  and  subordinate  meet- 
ings of  discipline  which  it  elected  to  join  or  continued  to 
adhere  to.  The  right  of  property  became  the  subject  of 
litigation  in  several  of  the  States ;  but  it  was  apparent, 
that  even  before  temporal  tribunals,  each  litigant  party 
was  quite  as  anxious  to  establish  its  claim  to  be  the  true 
Society  of  Friends,  as  to  gain  the  property  in  contest.  To 
the  credit  of  both,  however,  it  can  be  truly  said  that 
they  soon  wearied  of  litigation;  the  controversy  was 
found  uncongenial  and  distasteful,  and  both  yielded  sup- 
posed rights  of  great  value  rather  than  continue  a  strife 
wasteful  of  their  spiritual  well-being  and  Christian  pro- 
fession. 

The  difficulty  with  those  who  adhered  to  the  Yearly 
Meeting  of  4th  month,  1827,  that  continued  its  sittings 
upon  regular  adjournments  at  the  same  place,  and  over  to 
the  next  year,  was,  that  apprehending  these  in  its  con- 
nexions to  be  the  only  true  society,  it  would  be  an  aban- 
donment of  obligatory  trusts  to  come  into  any  arrange- 


DIVISION  OF  FRIENDS.  123 

ment  for  the  voluntary  division  of  the  property;  while 
their  opponents  as  sincerely  claimed  to  be  a  portion  of  the 
Society  of  Friends,  and  to  be  equally  within  the  purpose 
of  the  trusts.  It  was  not  to  be  expected  of  human 
nature  that  where  so  much  feeling  existed,  such  an 
arrangement  could  be  consummated.  The  writer  has  no 
right  to  judge  those  so  much  better  and  purer  than  him- 
self, yet  he  could  not  but  cherish  the  thought  that  if 
Friends  could  have  come  to  an  amicable  and  equitable 
division  of  property,  they  would  have  set  an  example  to 
the  world  of  more  value  than  the  property  to  be  thereby 
sacrificed,  fitting  to  be  recorded  with  the  history  of  their 
leading  and  glorious  triumphs  of  principle,  when  they 
treated  with  and  paid  the  Indians  for  lands  that  by  char- 
tered right  was  already  the  Proprietary's;  when  as 
pioneers  they  secured  religious  toleration ;  and  when, 
obedient  to  the  calls  of  humanity,  they  enfranchised  their 
slaves,  and  zealously  co-operated  for  the  abolition  of  the 
slave  trade.  In  scriptural  authority,  they  had  before 
them  the  beautiful  and  persuasive  example  of  Abraham 
and  Lot — each  willing  to  yield  to  the  other  the  right  to 
take  to  the  right  hand  or  to  the  left,  for  the  enjoyment 
of  what  a  bountiful  Providence  had  amply  supplied  for 
their  flocks  and  herds,  and  their  households  and  people. 

In  respect  to  the  legal  right  so  to  have  adjusted  the 
rights  of  property,  when  it  is  considered  that  it  is  a 
cherished  principle  of  our  jurisprudence  to  favour  arnica- 


124  DIVISION  OF  FRIENDS. 

ble  settlements,  and  that  family  compacts  made  for  the 
determination  of  controversy,  are  upheld  as  of  sacred 
obligation,  because  they  avert  litigation  and  preserve 
peace,  it  could  hardly  be  doubted  that  the  tribunals  of 
justice  would  meet  in  the  same  spirit  and  most  willingly 
affirm  the  amicable  treaties  of  divided  religious  associa- 
tions. Can  this  be  questioned  when  the  Supreme  Court 
of  Pennsylvania  has  reiterated  the  recommendation  that 
the  litigant  members  of  a  divided  religious  society  should 
"  part  in  peace,  having  settled  their  claims  to  the  property 
on  the  basis  of  mutual  and  liberal  concession,"  and  ex- 
pressed the  confident  trust  that,  even  in  the  contingency 
of  revolution,  "  to  the  justice  and  forbearance  of  the 
majority  of  the  association,  whose  very  object  is  to  deal 
justly,  love  mercy,  and  walk  humbly,  the  minority  can- 
not appeal  in  vain  V*  1  W.  &  S.  40.  But  no  word  of 
censure  of  Friends  is  intended  to  be  here  implied :  it  is 
only  the  indulgence  of  the  thought,  perhaps  an  enthusi- 
astic one,  that  those  who  have  been  always  so  self-sacrific- 
ingly  just,  and  so  prominent  in  the  cause  of  humanity, 
might,  even  in  this  respect,  have  gone  counter  to  all 
known  practice,  and  transcended  the  example  of  the  world. 

From  an  early  period  of  life  Philip  Price  had  been  a 
member  of  all  those  select  bodies  of  Friends  of  infre- 
quent change  of  members.  He  participated  in  the 
opinion,  and  entertained  a  solemn  conviction,  that  unsound 
doctrines  had  been  preached  and  were  making  progress  in 


DIVISION  OF  FRIENDS.  125 

the  society.  The  Yearly  Meeting  to  which  he  belonged 
did  not  provide  by  an  amendment  of  the  discipline  to 
meet  the  extraordinary  emergency,  that  a  separation  from 
its  subordinate  meetings  should  be  accepted  as  a  resigna- 
tion, or  make  such  act  itself  a  cause  of  disownment, 
without  the  visitation  and  effort  at  reclamation  which  the 
discipline  required  in  its  usual  course  of  administration. 
The  task  of  disowning  equal  and  often  greater  numbers, 
was  left  as  an  imperative  but  very  onerous  duty  on  the 
members,  in  stations  requiring  them  to  carry  out  the 
requisitions  of  the  discipline.  These  visitations  were 
regarded  by  the  parties  visited  and  disowned,  and  who 
recognised  their  own  body  as  the  true  society,  as  useless 
aggravations  of  the  existing  differences  and  feelings  ; 
and  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  such  visits  would  gene- 
rally be  received  with  complacency  or  meekness.  This 
unwelcome  duty  Philip  Price  performed  among  friends 
and  neighbours  ;  and  also  as  one  of  a  committee  to  visit 
the  Southern  Quarter,  where  but  few  remained  in  the 
same  connexion  to  perform  the  duty.  The  respect  and 
veneration  felt  for  the  man,  caused  him  to  be  received 
with  kindness,  but  the  ordeal  was  the  severest  his  kind 
nature  had  ever  been  subjected  to,  and  sorrow  and  tears 
were  often  his  portion.  Yet  he  did  his  duty  according  to 
what  he  believed  required  of  him,  to  the  acquittal  of  his 
own  conscience,  and  of  his  obligation  to  his  religious 

society  and  his  Creator. 
11  * 


126 


DIVISION  OF  FRIENDS. 


A  similar  allotment  of  service  did  not  devolve  on 
Rachel  Price.  As  a  minister,  she  was  not  so  much  ex- 
pected to  take  an  active  part  in  disciplinary  duties ;  and 
as  such  she  had  felt  bound  to  be  watchful  for  her  own 
preservation  and  usefulness ;  and  to  keep  her  mind  and 
feelings  disengaged  from  those  matters  of  controversy 
which  divided  the  members  of  the  society.  She  dwelt 
in  the  Gospel  love  that  had  so  much  distinguished 
Friends  in  prior  times,  and  her  heart  yearned  towards 
all,  that  they  might  dwell  in  humility  at  the  feet  of  the 
Saviour  :  and  it  was  in  the  assemblies  of  the  youth ;  of 
her  own  descendants  ;  and  of  a  few  undivided  meetings, 
that  she  most  freely  poured  forth  her  feelings  in  Gospel 
ministration,  and  experienced  the  sweetest  relief  and  con- 
solation, declaring  unto  them,  "  By  this  shall  all  men 
know  that  ye  are  my  disciples,  that  ye  have  love  one  for 
another. " 

The  division  in  the  society  carried  their  children  and 
remoter  descendants  into  different  religious  associations. 
This  was  a  source  of  deep  trial  to  the  most  affectionate 
of  parents,  and  to  the  children  by  whom  they  were  be- 
loved. They  were  separated  in  the  performance  of  man's 
highest  duty, — in  their  religious  worship, — with  which 
the  domestic  affections  delight  to  commingle;  yet  the 
parental  and  filial  attachment  withstood  this  severest  of 
trials.  The  language  often  repeated  in  her  religious 
communications  was  now  spoken  with  an  especial  signifi- 


RETROSPECTION. 


127 


cance  and  deeply  impressive  effect :  the  maternal  appeal 
was  made  in  the  words  of  the  Divine  Master — that  their 
fellowship  should  bear  His  test  of  discipleship,  and  that 
they  should  experimentally  know  that  "  God  is  Love,  and 
he  that  dwelleth  in  love  dwelleth  in  God,  and  God  in 
hini."  In  proportion  to  the  laceration  was  this  balm 
graciously  dispensed  to  heal  the  wound.  The  parents' 
love  endured  with  life.  The  filial  and  fraternal  affection 
of  their  descendants  survives  the  grave )  and  that  it  may 
survive  to  all  when  time  shall  be  no  more  to  them,  is 
their  fervent  prayer. 

In  reference  to  the  former  condition  of  the  society 
within  her  recollection,  and  afterwards  as  she  saw  it  when 
torn  by  divisions  and  scattered  asunder,  I  find  the  fol- 
lowing expression  of  the  feelings  of  our  beloved  mother  ; 
uttered  not  in  censure  of  any,  but  in  lamentation  of  visi- 
ble results,  restrictive  of  her  own  exercises  in  the  Gospel 
ministry.  "  When  I  consider  those  days  of  favour  to 
our  once  happy  society,  and  compare  them  with  the  pre- 
sent, my  mind  is  clothed  with  mourning,  and  according 
to  my  small  measure,  I  can  adopt  the  language  of  the 
prophet  J oel,  when  he  says — '  Let  the  bridegroom  go  forth 
of  his  chamber,  and  the  bride  out  of  her  closet :  Let  the 
priests,  the  ministers  of  the  Lord,  weep  between  the 
porch  and  the  altar,  and  let  them  say — Spare  thy  people, 
0  Lord,  and  give  not  thine  heritage  to  reproach,  that  the 
heathen  should  rule  over  them  j  wherefore  should  they 


128    RECURRENCE  TO  FIRST  PRINCIPLES. 

say  among  the  people,  Where  is  their  God  V  May  the 
Lord  be  jealous  of  His  name  and  pity  the  people."  *  * 
"  Of  latter  times,  I  have  felt  my  way  very  much  closed 
from  frequent  communication  in  the  exercise  of  my  gift, 
or  in  travelling  to  visit  friends  in  their  meetings,  from 
causes  over  which  I  had  no  control.  I  desire  to  wait  in 
patience  and  resignation,  endeavouring  to  know  the 
Divine  Will,  and  to  do  it  according  to  my  ability,  having 
no  will  of  my  own,  but  leaving  it  to  Him  that  hath  the 
key  of  David :  He  that  openeth  and  no  man  shutteth, 
and  shutteth  and  no  man  rightly  openeth.  If  it  should 
be  His  will  that  my  way  should  yet  be  closed,  and  my 
harp  hung  on  the  willow,  and  my  tongue  cleave  to  the 
roof  of  my  mouth,  yet  may  I  remember  Zion,  and  prefer 
Jerusalem  above  my  chiefest  joy.  This  language  is  often 
the  companion  of  my  mind — 'Be  still,  and  know  that  I 
am  God.' " 

Each  division  has  since  felt  the  value  of  the  lesson  of 
1827,  in  its  bitter  consequences,  and  a  forbearance  has 
been  exercised  by  each  under  subsequent  difficulties,  that  if 
then  mutually  observed,  it  is  believed,  would  have  averted 
the  rent  of  that  period.  Individuals  might  have  been  dis- 
owned, but  the  integrity  of  the  body  have  been  preserved. 
To  the  truth  and  wisdom  of  the  following  passages  in  the 
Address  of  the  Yearly  Meeting,  held  in  the  Fourth 
month,  1847,  nothing  can  be  added.  "  The  enemy  of 
truth  and  of  the  soul's  salvation,  has  succeeded  by  various 


DOCTRINES  OF  FRIENDS.  129 

stratagems  in  marring  the  beauty  and  peace  of  Zion,  and 
it  behooves  all  those  who  are  desirous  of  seeing  the  waste 
places  built  up,  and  the  former  paths  restored,  to  put 
shoulder  to  shoulder,  and  walking  by  the  same  rule,  and 
minding  the  same  thing,  rally  to  first  principles,  and 
labour  harmoniously  in  the  great  work  of  our  duty." 
u  Against  these  dangers  which  threaten  the  Church,  there 
is  but  one  defence, — a  hearty  and  practical  return  to  First 
Principles.  The  light  of  Christ  which  shineth  in  every 
man,  which  is  the  swift  reprover  of  sin,  and  shines  more 
and  more  in  the  humble  and  obedient  soul,  unto  the  per- 
pect  day,  will,  if  we  follow  its  guidance  in  all  things  as  it 
makes  them  manifest,  lead  us  into  all  truth  and  unto  all 
humility  and  holiness. "  "  This  humble,  consistent  walk- 
ing, a  godly  zeal,  the  love  of  each  other  in  that  fellow- 
ship which  is  in  the  ever-blessed  and  unchangeable  Truth, 
would  again  distinguish  us  as  a  people,  and  it  would 
again  be  said  of  us  as  of  old,  '  See,  how  these  Quakers 
love  one  another  V " 

The  "  Appeal  for  the  Ancient  Doctrines  of  Friends/' 
from  which  the  preceding  extracts  are  made,  was  pre- 
pared and  issued  by  those  who  had  twenty  years  before 
combated  what  they  believed  to  be  errors  of  heretical 
tendency,  but  now,  turning  to  the  other  extreme  of  the 
doctrinal  platform,  exerted  the  same  ability  and  research 
to  exculpate  the  Society  of  Friends  from  the  imputation 
of  opinions  nearly  allied  to  those  of  the  churches  from 


130 


DOCTRINES  OF  FRIENDS. 


which  ancient  Friends  had  separated.  Thus  prepared 
with  the  care  and  wariness  induced  by  the  recollection 
of  the  recent  history  of  the  society  on  the  one  hand,  and, 
on  the  other,  in  refutation  of  writings  assimilated  in 
doctrine  to  the  views  of  the  persecutors  of  the  founders 
of  their  religious  community,  the  "  Appeal"  is  based  in 
neither  extreme,  and  is  a  close  and  careful  exposition  of 
the  doctrines  of  the  society,  distinctly  recognising  "  the 
more  sure  word  of  prophecy"  to  be  "the  Word  nigh  in 
the  heart" — from  which  the  Scriptures  came,  and  in  and 
by  which  the  Scriptures  are  to  be  interpreted. 

It  becomes  the  writer  to  speak  with  the  greatest  diffi- 
dence upon  the  subject  of  doctrines,  but  he  would  be  de- 
relict to  the  duty  he  has  ventured  to  assume,  were  he  to 
leave  unstated  a  summary  of  the  faith  of  his  parents. 
Their  faith  was  Orthodox,  in  the  sense  that  the  Society 
of  Friends  had  always  been  orthodox.  Theirs  was  not  a 
dead  faith,  unproductive  of  good  works.  It  was  a  faith, 
believing  in  the  authenticity  and  Divine  authority  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  but  understanding  them  with  the  light 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  that  inspired  their  penmen ;  a  faith 
believing  in  the  "  miraculous  conception,  birth,  miracles, 
doctrines,  crucifixion,  and  resurrection  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ;"*  but  ever  waiting  on  His  spiritual 
appearance  in  the  heart,  who  "  brought  life  and  immor- 
tality to  light;"  a  faith  believing  in  a  reconciliation,  for- 

*  Letter  of  P.  Price. 


DOCTRINES  OF  FRIENDS.  131 

giveness,  and  justification  through  Him,  but  to  be  pre- 
ceded by  a  repentance  of  sin,  a  regeneration  and  sanctifi- 
cation  of  the  soul, — a  being  justified  because  made  just 
by  the  operations  and  a  submission  to  His  Holy  Spirit, 
without  which,  all  human  efforts,  in  worship,  in  prayer, 
and  in  sanctification,  would  be  vain  and  unavailing ;  and 
believing,  that  without  such  repentance  and  justification, 
in  the  final  judgment  man  will  be  adjudged  according  to 
the  deeds  done  in  the  body. 

Friends,  in  all  times,  since  they  rose,  have  endured  the 
charge  of  heterodoxy  from  sects  claiming  to  be  orthodox. 
The  ground  of  the  charge  has  mainly  been  that  Friends 
have  preferred  to  adhere  to  the  Spirit  of  the  Scriptures 
of  Truth,  as  they  find  them  to  have  been  written  j  refus- 
ing, therefore,  to  adopt  unscriptural  terms  and  deductions 
made  from  them  in  man's  will  and  wisdom.  They  have 
preferred  that  the  evidences  of  their  faith  should  be 
found  in  a  life  of  righteousness,  in  their  obedience  to  the 
spiritual  appearances  of  our  Saviour  and  to  His  com- 
mandments left  while  on  earth,  wherein  each  individual 
must  experience  the  work  of  his  own  regeneration,  re- 
demption, and  salvation  to  be  wrought  in  his  own  soul. 
"  For  the  grace  of  God  that  bringeth  salvation  hath 
appeared  to  all  men,  teaching  us,  that,  denying  ungodli- 
ness and  worldly  lusts,  we  should  live  soberly,  righteously, 
and  godly,  in  this  present  world."  Instead  of  falling 
short  of  others,  true  Quakerism  is  religion's  power  in  its 


132 


SEPARATION  DEPLORED. 


highest  efficacy — is.  sincere,  self-sacrificing,  earnest,  and 
devoted,  in  love  to  God  and  love  to  man — a  fervent  be- 
lief in  Him  whom  to  believe  in  is  "  everlasting  life" — 
the  Messiah,  the  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 

Many  others  than  members  have  lamented  events  so 
keenly  deplored  by  the  subjects  of  this  Memoir,  and  by 
all  who  have  been  faithfully  concerned  for  the  welfare  of 
the  Church.  The  conservative  example  for  all  that 
regarded  good  order  and  sound  principle,  and  the  unceas- 
ing philanthropical  labours  of  Friends,  had  ever  been  of 
salutary  and  pervading  influence,  and  it  was  a  source  of 
regret  to  all  who  could  appreciate  their  virtues,  that 
they  should  be  in  any  degree  shorn  of  their  power  of 
usefulnes^.  Their  mutual  love  and  fraternal  aid  were  a 
^SeSS^cT  others,  and  while  their  charity  to  their  own  poor 
is  so  much  unseen  as  to  be  little  known,  their  affluence 
of  love  and  charity  have  also  unceasingly  flowed  to  others 
beyond  the  pale  of  their  society.  It  is  true  they  ever 
warn  their  youth  to  abstain  from  the  vain  fashions  and 
seductive  allurements  of  the  world,  and  to  keep  up  the 
hedging  of  a  distinctive  dress  and  language,  but  when 
proved  and  fortified  by  experience,  their  humane  and 
gifted  emissaries,  clothed  with  the  armour  of  Christ,  have 
ever  been  obedient  to  the  calls  of  humanity,  and  main- 
tained the  Christian  warfare  for  the  reformation  of  man- 
kind— of  the  action  of  mind  upon  mind,  of  feeling  upon 
feeling,  and  of  the  principle  of  truth  over  error,  and  of 


SEPARATION  DEPLORED. 


133 


goodness  over  evil.  To  the  well-wishers  of  human  pro- 
gress and  improvement,  whether  within  or  without  the 
society,  therefore,  it  was  cause  of  mourning  that  the 
spirit  of  discord  could  find  entrance  into  such  a  frater- 
nity of  love  and  peace — that  so  beautiful  a  temple  of 
harmonious  proportion  as  this  living  Church,  could  have 
been  riven  to  its  foundation.  But  it  was  those  who  had 
long  enjoyed  the  spiritual  benefits  and  happiness  of  the 
religious  association  that  most  keenly  felt  the  lacerations 
of  broken  ties  and  alienated  friendships — mournfully  be- 
held their  waste  places,  and,  in  the  bitterness  of  sorrow, 
heard  the  songs  of  Zion  as  in  exile  from  brethren  and  the 
spiritual  homes  where  they  had  worshipped  .together. 

Were  it  permitted  of  one  who  can  claim  no  influence 
to  utter  a  prayerful  wish,  it  would  be  that  the  blessed 
Power  who  is  ever  operative  to  restore  the  disturbed 
equilibriums  of  His  natural  creation,  who  beneficently 
heals  the  wounded,  "  binds  up  the  broken-hearted,"  and 
is  ever  shedding  the  light  of  His  glorious  Truth,  should 
contiuue  to  allay  all  unhappy  feelings,  and  as  His  holy 
love  shall  draw  His  people  to  Himself,  He  will  ever  draw 
them  into  a  Gospel  fellowship  and  unity  with  each  other, 
and  though  they  should  not  worship  together,  and 
"  neither  in  this  mountain,  nor  yet  in  Jerusalem,  worship 
the  Father," — yet  may  they  worship  Him  in  the  same 
spirit  and  in  the  same  truth  and  faith.    And  may  they 

never  forget  the  value  of  those  testimonies  of  truth  and 
12 


134  WILLIAM  JACKSON. 

humanity  which  their  common  religious  ancestors  upheld 
and  established  under  the  sharpest  persecutions,  and  that 
the  righteous  principles  they  cherished  were  dearer  to 
them  than  property  or  life;  that  the  history  of  their 
descendants,  as  theirs,  may,  as  the  course  of  a  pure  and 
beneficent  stream,  brightly  contrast  with  the  dark  and 
crimsoned  annals  of  mankind,  and  reflect  the  glory  of 
Him  that  is  the  fountain  of  all  light. 

During  the  summer  of  1833,  Philip  and  Rachel  Price 
visited  together  many  of  their  friends  and  relatives  in 
Maryland,  and  parts  of  Pennsylvania,  in  going  and 
returning.  The  occasion  seems  to  have  been  social, 
rather  than  a  religious  service.  Returning,  they  visited 
and  were  welcomed  by  their  venerable  friends  William 
and  Hannah  Jackson.  The  former,  then  in  his  eighty- 
first  year,  had  from  infirmity  ceased  to  attend  meetings 
of  worship,  but  his  mind  was  bright,  filled  with  love,  and 
wakeful  to  the  condition  of  the  religious  world.  On  its 
being  remarked  to  him  that  it  was  an  inexpressible 
favour,  when  the  body  was  afflicted  so  as  to  prevent 
attendance  at  places  of  Divine  worship,  to  know  "  that 
He  whom  we  meet  to  worship  is  not  confined  to  temples 
made  with  hands,  but  continues  to  condescend  to  meet 
with  those  who  sincerely  seek  Him,  even  in  their  lonely 
habitations William  replied,  "  Yes, — my  love  is  to- 
wards them, — and  in  all  our  weakness  of  body  and  mind, 
He  permits  us  to  feel  and  know  that  we  are  not  forsaken, 


WILLIAM  JACKSON.  135 

by  the  frequent  incomes  of  Divine  love  in  our  heart*, 
whereby  the  mind  is  strengthened  to  hold  on  in  its  way, 
bearing  in  remembrance  that  here  we  have  no  continuing 
city,  and  that  our  generation  must  pass  and  another 
arise/'  He  expressed  for  himself  an  entire  resignation 
and  willingness  to  pass  away.  He  referred  with  a  lively 
interest  to  the  rise  of  the  society,  and  made  a  comparison 
between  the  present  and  the  times  of  George  Fox,  when 
there  was  great  commotion  and  unsettlement  about  reli- 
gion, and  the  different  sects  contended  for  supremacy. 
But  these  "  did  not  sufficiently  consider  that  an  outward 
profession  of  faith,  however  good,  without  the  experi- 
mental knowledge  of  the  operation  of  the  Divine  Spirit 
on  the  secret  heart,  is  not  sufficient  for  our  purification, 
justification,  or  redemption.  Things  being  in  this  state, 
George  Fox  invited  the  people  to  Christ  within,  the  hope 
of  glory,  the  true  light  which  lightens  every  man.  As 
they  gathered  to  this,  as  the  standard  of  light  and  life, 
and  settled  under  its  operations  in  the  heart,  withdrawing 
from  outward  ceremonies  and  forms,  there  was  a  great 
revival  of  true  religion.  I  have  believed,  on  weighing 
the  subject,  that  if  the  people  in  this  land,  and  in  this 
our  day  and  time  of  commotion,  would  centre  down  in 
their  minds  to  the  same  Divine  principle  in  the  heart, 
there  would  be  again  a  gathering  to  the  Light,  and  the 
knowledge  of  the  Lord  would  increase  a  thousand  fold, 
and  as  faithfulness  should  be  kept  to,  the  reign  of  the 


136 


TREATMENT  OF  THE  INDIANS. 


Prince  of  Peace  would  more  and  more  abound."  The 
narrator,  Rachel  Price,  adds,  "  I  cannot  convey  the  feel- 
ings of  my  own  mind  more  fully  than  by  saying  they 
have  long  been  in  accordance  with  what  he  expressed  in 
the  interesting  interview  we  had  with  him." 

The  Society  of  Friends,  from  the  settlement  of  the 
province  of  Pennsylvania  by  William  Penn,  following  his 
good  example  of  kindness  and  justice,  in  a  spirit  of  grate- 
ful humanity,  has  ever  maintained  friendly  relations  with 
the  Indian  tribes,  and  its  members  have  devoted  much 
time  and  means  for  their  improvement  in  the  arts  of 
civilized  life,  and  their  moral  and  religious  instruction. 
When  more  contiguous,  the  care  of  the  society  was  more 
immediate  and  constant,  begetting  frequent  interviews, 
and  councils  together,  and  addresses  full  of  interest  and 
instruction.  For  these  injured  and  expelled  sons  of  the 
forest,  the  sympathies  of  Rachel  Price  were  always  in- 
tensely awake.  The  records  of  the  councils  held  with 
Friends  and  Deputy  Governors,  speeches  delivered,  &c. 
were  procured  and  copied  by  her  own  hand.  When  the 
Cherokees  published  a  newspaper,  it  was  subscribed  for, 
read,  and  contributed  to,  by  her.  She  wrote  to  encourage 
them  in  the  worship  of  the  "  Great  Spirit," — the  "  Com- 
mon Father"  of  all, — to  abstain  from  the  use  of  ardent 
spirits, — from  holding  slaves, — holding  up  to  their  view, 
that  "  Surely  the  God  of  mercy  and  justice  will  one  day 
or  other  plead  the  cause  of  the  oppressed  African,  as 


LETTER  TO  PRESIDENT  JACKSON.  137 

well  as  that  of  the  afflicted  Indian  ;  He  who  of  one 
blood  created  all  nations  on  the  earth, — who  is  our  com- 
mon Father, — who  has  in  his  Divine  goodness  and  mercy 
granted  a  portion  of  his  Holy  Spirit,  as  a  witness  placed 
in  each  of  our  hearts. " 

When  that  tribe  was  required  by  the  policy  of  the 
General  Government  to  remove  to  the  west,  she  felt  bound 
to  raise  her  voice,  though  that  of  a  feeble  woman,  in  a 
feeling,  pathetic,  and  solemn  remonstrance,  addressed  to 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  pleading  with  him  for 
the  Indian,  as  she  had  with  the  Indian  for  the  African. 
To  be  sure  no  result  was  likely  to  come  from  the  appeal, 
but  it  was  uttered  in  that  authority  that  she  was  not  at 
liberty  to  disobey.  Quoting  the  Great  Commandment  of 
our  Saviour,  "  that  whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should 
do  unto  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them,"  reciting  the  obliga- 
tions of  treaties  formed,  the  example  of  Penn,  and  the 
duty  of  kindness  and  protection  to  the  original  owners 
of  the  soil,  she  proceeded  to  say,  "  The  sympathetic  feel- 
ings in  the  minds  of  many  of  the  people  are  very 
much  awakened  on  behalf  of  the  natives  remaining  within 
the  limits  of  some  of  the  southern  states,  whose  rulers 
seem  determined  to  dispossess  them,  and  drive  them  from 
the  land  of  their  forefathers,  and  from  their  comfortable 
homes, — made  so  by  their  own  industry  and  economy, 
under  the  encouragement  of  former  administrations  of  our 

government."    "  Permit  a  feeble  female  voice  to  plead 

12* 


138      LETTER  TO  PRESIDENT  JACKSON. 

for  that  distressed,  afflicted  people, — for  sixty  thousand 
individuals,  equally  the  objects  of  redeeming  love  and 
mercy  with  ourselves,  who  profess  the  sacred  name  of 
Christians."  "  We  deeply  feel  for  our  beloved  country, 
lest  by  any  rash  or  cruel  act  upon  the  helpless,  the  Al- 
mighty Power  may  see  meet  to  avenge  their  wrongs. 
Although  He  is  a  God  of  mercy,  He  is  also  a  God  of 
justice,  and  will  recompense  us  according  to  our  works. 
i  For  the  crying  of  the  poor  and  the  sighing  He  will  arise/ 
May  the  prayers  of  the  sincere  of  heart  be  availing  with 
Him  who  can  turn  the  heart  of  man,  and  cause  him  to 
know  that  the  Most  High  ruleth  in  the  kingdoms  of  men. 
'It  is  shewn  unto  thee,  oh  man,  what  is  good,  and  what 
the  Lord  thy  God  hath  required  of  thee, — to  deal  justly, 
to  love  mercy,  and  walk  humbly  before  thy  God.'  If 
man,  presuming  in  his  own  strength  and  power,  persists 
in  his  own  will  to  raise  the  iron  hand  of  oppression,  to 
exterminate  the  unoffending  and  helpless,  may  we  not 
fear  that  He  that  hath  all  power  in  heaven  and  on  earth, 
may  see  meet  to  turn  it  on  the  head  of  the  oppressor  V* 
u  May  the  President  of  the  United  States  be  willing  to 
pause  and  reflect,  remembering  that  'not  the  hearers  are 
just  before  God,  but  the  doers  of  the  Law  shall  be  justi- 
fied/ "  "  We  are  both  advanced  in  life,  and  the  time  fast 
approaching  when  the  awful  language  may  be  sounded  in 
our  ears,  *  Steward,  give  up  thy  stewardship,  for  thou 
mayst  be  no  longer  steward.'    May  the  King  of  kings, 


LAST  JOURNEY. 


139 


and  Lord  of  lords,  who  is  God  over  all  the  families  of  the 
earth,  incline  thy  heart  to  justice,  truth,  and  mercy." 

In  behalf  of  the  Indians,  in  answer  to  the  allega- 
tion against  them  that  "  civilization  must  displace  bar- 
barism"— she  advocated,  in  their  Gazette,  their  right  to 
remain  on  the  footing  of  their  advanced  civilization.  "  Is 
not  this  realized  in  and  by  the  Cherokee  nation  and 
several  other  tribes  ?  It  would  no  doubt  spread  far  and 
wide  under  the  protecting  care  of  a  kind  Providence, 
encouraged  by  a  mild,  pacific  government, — like  that  of 
our  worthy  predecessor  (William  Penn),  or  under  the 
fatherly,  fostering  protection  of  such  a  President  as 
George  Washington.  Notwithstanding  you  may  be 
driven  from  the  land  of  your  forefathers  by  the  powerful 
hand  of  man,  even  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains,  remem- 
ber that  you  cannot  go  beyond  the  care  of  Him  who  re- 
gards even  the  sparrows,  of  Him  who  said  to  his  disciples, 
'  are  not  ye  of  more  value  than  many  sparrows  ?'  " 

In  the  year  1836,  our  beloved  parents  made  their  last 
journey  together,  to  visit  their  daughter  in  Susquehanna 
county,  on  the  north  border  of  Pennsylvania,  and  other 
friends  in  the  state  of  New  York.  Our  mother  made 
some  notes  of  impressions  on  this  journey,  and  it  is  in- 
teresting to  observe  the  effects  of  new  objects  upon  her 
reflective  mind.  It  was  probably  her  first  ride  by  steam 
power,  and  she  could  not  but  regard  the  locomotive  with 
its  fire  and  puffing,  whisking  its  long  train  along,  as  having 


140 


LAST  JOURNEY. 


u  an  infernal  appearance/'  and  its  rapid  motion,  like  fly- 
ing through  the  air  from  time  to  eternity.  The  slower 
pace  in  the  canal  boat  up  the  Susquehanna,  permitted 
time  for  observation  and  reflection,  in  better  keeping  with 
her  own  feelings.  "  We  passed  moderately  along  at  the 
rate  of  four  miles  an  hour,  which  afforded  us  an  opportu- 
nity of  looking  upon  the  scenery ;  the  works  of  art  and 
the  sublime  works  of  the  Creator ;  the  lofty  mountains 
and  the  rocks  hanging  over  the  river, — the  beautiful 
flowers  of  various  kinds,  all  adding  to  the  grandeur  or 
loveliness  of  the  scene,  and  producing  a  sweet  sensation, 
comparable  to  the  calm  decline  of  life,  when  the  day's 
work  seems  to  be  almost  done.  There  was  one  sub- 
ject of  reflection  which  occurred  often  in  our  travelling, 
particularly  on  the  rivers  and  mountains,  striking  my 
mind  with  great  force,  particularly  in  passing  up  the 
Susquehanna, — that  all  these  romantic  scenes  had  been 
from  time  immemorial  in  the  possession  of  the  Indians, — 
their  peaceful  homes, — their  hunting  grounds, — their 
fisheries ;  where  were  their  wigwams,  and  all  the  com- 
forts they  required  in  their  wandering  manner  of  life. 
But  now,  they  are  driven  off  by  the  whites  from  these 
abodes,  designed  no  doubt  by  our  Great  Benefactor  for 
their  benefit  as  well  as  ours, — a  poor  and  oppressed  peo- 
ple, permitted  now  to  have  no  share  of  what  was  justly 
their  own.   In  solemn  retrospect,  the  hillocks  I  see  appear 


LAST  JOURNEY. 


141 


to  my  imagination  as  the  graves  of  the  nations  that  have 
passed  away  P' 

Her  notes  mention  their  cordial  reception  by  their  warm 
friend,  Charles  Miner,  near  Wilkesbarre,  and  speak  of  a 
visit  with  him  to  the  Baltimore  mine  of  coal,  but  not  of 
the  impressions  and  remarks  there  made,  which  much 
interested  his  mind.  To  one  who  had  never  seen  such  an 
excavation  into  the  interior  of  the  earth,  between  massive 
jet  columns  of  coal,  supporting  at  great  height  a  roof  of 
slate,  that  itself  sustained  the  incumbent  hill,  the  impres- 
sion made  was  grand  and  imposing,  and  not  unmingled 
with  emotions  of  astonishment  at  the  boldness  of  man, 
in  thus  venturing  to  penetrate  and  disturb  the  bowels  of 
the  earth — but  was  quickly  followed  by  the  grateful 
acknowledgments  to  an  all-wise  and  bountiful  Creator, 
who  had  thus  treasured  up  in  ages  long  past,  this  resource 
of  fuel  and  comfort  for  the  present  and  future  generations 
of  men. 

But  a  recent  letter  from  the  pen  of  her  attentive  con- 
ductor, gives  more  of  the  details  of  this  visit  to  the  mine  : 
"  When  we  came  in  full  view  of  those  lofty  pillars  and 
vast  caverns,  seemingly  dark  from  the  contrast  with  the 
glare  of  day  in  which  we  stood,  she  paused,  and  her  eye 
passed  over  the  scene  in  a  deliberate  survey.  Presently 
she  began  with  much  cheerfulness  to  observe  and  to 
inquire.  The  unmistakeable  traces  of  vegetable  impres- 
sions, and  even  of  the  roots  and  stumps  of  large  trees  in 


142 


LAST  JOURNEY. 


the  slate-rocks,  were  objects  of  special  notice  and  exa- 
mined with  delighted  curiosity  j  a  few  for  their  own  beauty, 
but  chiefly  as  they  impressed  her  mind  with  their  great 
antiquity  j  and  especially  as  furnishing  strong  proof  that 
coal  was  not  a  mineral  but  of  vegetable  origin.  We 
rather  waited  her  pleasure  to  move,  than  led  the  way  to 
enter  the  mine.  Her  inquiries,  remarks,  cheerfulness, 
and  evident  enjoyment,  were  a  source  of  pleasure  to  us 
all.  After  examining  the  various  laj^ers  or  seams  of  coal 
apparent  in  the  pillars,  differing  in  thickness  and  quality, 
and  divided  by  their  lamina  of  slate ;  and  listening  to  the 
suggestion  that  they  indicated  that  the  whole  body  of  coal 
was  not  formed  at  one  time,  but  by  successive  layers,  and 
at  long  intervals,  I  ventured  to  speak  of  the  pecuniary 
value  of  the  mine,  showing  the  results  by  cubic  yards 
and  per  acre,  to  be  very  great.  She  smiled,  but  made  no 
reply.  Having  completed  the  exploration,  we  returned 
near  to  the  place  of  entrance  and  paused,  the  mind  of 
your  excellent  mother  apparently  absorbed  in  thought. 
A  deep  feeling  of  solemnity  seemed  to  come  over  us  all. 
After  a  few  minutes'  silence,  she  spoke  to  this  effect : 
'  The  visit  to  this  place  has  been  to  me  a  source  of 
rational  pleasure  and  desirable  information.  In  it  are 
combined,  in  a  wonderful  degree,  the  beautiful  and  in- 
structive, from  objects  of  minute  examination  unto  the 
sublime  in  rude  magnificence  and  vastness.  I  cannot 
conceive  that  an  intelligent  and  rightly  disposed  mind 


LAST  JOURNEY.  143 

could  behold  what  we  have  seen  to-day  without  its 
awakening  a  very  solemn  train  of  reflections.  I  am  sen- 
sible these  mines  give  profitable  employment  to  many 
labourers,  and  thus  render  many  families  comfortable, 
and  am  aware  of  their  great  commercial  value ;  but  my 
mind  has  been  led  to  consider  them  in  a  light  less  worldly, 
but  not  less  worthy  of  our  regard.  These  cold  but  fruit- 
ful northern  latitudes  seem  in  the  future  destined  to  be 
the  residence  of  a  numerous  population ;  but  food  and 
raiment  are  not  alone  sufficient ;  fuel  is  indispensable  to 
their  comfort,  if  not  to  their  existence.  Hence  the  de- 
posits of  these  inexhaustible  supplies  of  indestructible 
fuel,  in  positions  where  so  much  is  needed,  are  to  my  mind 
additional  demonstrations  of  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of 
our  beneficent  Creator ;  and  that  we,  his  children,  are 
the  objects  of  his  constant  care.  Cherishing  these  reflec- 
tions must  awaken  in  every  breast  renewed  feelings  of 
gratitude  to  the  Divine  Spirit,  and  of  praise  and  thanks- 
giving to  His  Holy  Name.'  The  outline  is  here,  my  dear 
friend,  but  to  pretend  to  verbal  accuracy  would  be  pre- 
suming. The  latter  part  of  her  remarks  were  more  full, 
very  pleasing,  and  very  solemn.  That  they  were  deeply 
impressive  on  my  mind  you  are  aware — more  so  than  any 
discourse  I  ever  heard.  I  give  you  the  rose-tree,  but 
neither  the  fragrance  nor  the  flowers. " 

Continuing  their  journey,  they  were  pleased  with  the 
lakes  and  scenery  in  the  interior  of  Xew  York,  and  of  the 


144  SOCIAL  GATHERINGS. 

North  River,  on  the  return ;  met  a  variety  of  company, 
and  had  new  ideas  to  form  of  persons  and  things ;  "  and 
in  every  situation  found  some  congenial  minds  with  whom 
we  could  mingle  in  conversation  and  unite  in  feeling. " 
It  was  felt  that  it  might  be,  as  it  proved,  their  last  jour- 
ney on  earth ;  and  it  is  added,  "  We  were  often  reminded 
of  the  great  and  final  journey  from  which  no  traveller 
will  return,  to  the  city  where  nothing  that  is  impure  can 
enter.  How  awful,  and  oh,  what  need  there  is  to  remem- 
"ber  the  injunction,  *  watch  and  pray,  and  that  continually, 
lest  ye  enter  into  temptation;'  but  the  consoling  promise 
is  that  1  in  every  nation,  kindred,  tongue,  and  people,  they 
that  fear  God,  and  work  righteousness,  shall  be  accepted 
of  Him.'  Such  is  His  universal  love  to  mankind,  that 
1  all  that  will  come  may  come,  and  partake  of  the  waters 
of  life  freely,  without  money  and  without  price.' " 

In  their  deportment  towards  their  children  and  govern- 
ment of  all  under  their  authority,  there  was  no  austerity. 
The  love  and  respect  that  all  bore  for  them,  and  the  fear  of 
wounding  their  feelings,  were  sufficient  restraints  against 
disobedience.  The  young  were  encouraged  by  kindness 
to  seek  their  presence  and  confide  in  them.  The  society 
of  youth  was  congenial  to  their  feelings,  and  the  social 
meetings  of  their  numerous  relatives,  and  the  friends  of 
their  children,  under  the  paternal  roof,  were  of  frequent 
repetition,  and  the  occasion  of  both  enjoyment  and  in- 
struction.   There  they  often  gathered  their  descendants, 


SOCIAL  GATHERINGS.  145 

numbering,  before  the  death  of  either,  over  fifty  indi- 
viduals, besides  the  husbands  or  wives  of  their  ten  child- 
ren, who  also  were  all  received  within  the  family  circle 
with  the  same  cordial  affection  as  their  own  children.  In 
that  beautiful  scene  and  hospitable  mansion,  to  which  the 
"  untravelled  hearts"  of  their  children  constantly  return, 
as  to  the  brightest  spot  and  dearest  home  of  earth,  did 
they  often  collect  their  flock,  and  in  the  social  gathering 
they  never  failed  spiritually  to  obey  the  Divine  injunc- 
tion, "  feed  my  lambs."  The  last  occasion,  during  their 
lives,  of  a  general  assemblage  of  this  description  was  in 
1834,  the  fiftieth  year  of  their  marriage,  at  their  former 
homestead  and  natal  home  of  their  children.  Here, 
where  their  son-in-law  and  daughter  maintained  the  an- 
cient hospitality,  met  the  descendants  of  all  ages  from 
infancy  to  past  middle  life,  and  after  the  usual  entertain- 
ment, gathered  in  stillness  and  silence.  It  was  felt  to  be 
the  last  occasion  when  so  many  of  us  would  ever  convene, 
and  that  the  patriarchal  parents  could  not  long  survive. 
These  considerations  awakened  the  natural  sensibilities 
of  parents  and  children ;  but  greater  was  the  paternal 
solicitude  then  expressed  that  their  descendants  should 
obey  the  Divine  and  inward  guide,  live  in  righteousness, 
and  continue  in  that  harmony  and  love  with  each  other, 
which  had  ever  through  life  been  to  them  the  cause  of 
heartfelt  thankfulness ;  and  remembering  that  the  old 

must  die,  the  young  may  die,  and  the  middle-aged  do 

13     •  '    i  "    1    $    it;  '  .  .,  - 


146 


LAST  ILLNESS. 


die — to  prepare  for  the  final  accountability,  that  all  might 
meet  again  in  happiness,  no  one  missing  from  the  j037f1.1l 
assemblage.  They  had  in  all  things  endeavoured  to  fulfil 
their  duties  to  their  offspring, — to  instil  into  their  minds 
the  precepts  of  justice  to  man,  and  the  cheering  hopes 
of  Christian  salvation, — and  as  they  had  striven  to  per- 
form their  duties,  their  earnest  supplications  were  raised 
that  their  children  should  in  like  manner  endeavour  to 
perform  their  duty  to  their  offspring, — that  goodness, 
justice,  harmony,  and  religious  faith  might  flow  as  a 
stream  through  the  succession  of  generations. 

On  the  12th  day  of  the  2d  month,  1837,  Philip  Price 
was  attacked  with  pleurisy,  which,  increasing  in  violence, 
produced  intense  suffering,  in  breaking  down  a  naturally 
strong  constitution.  His  children,  relatives,  and  friends, 
were  allowed  free  admission  to  the  sick  chamber,  he  de- 
siring their  presence,  saying  in  the  words  of  Addison, 
that  he  wished  them  to  "  see  in  what  peace  a  Christian 
can  die."  They  sat  in  quietness  with  him  during  a  sick- 
ness prolonged  through  two  weeks,  deeply  sympathizing 
with  the  sufferer,  and  instructed  by  his  patience  and  ex- 
pressions.   They  truly  felt  that 

"  The  chamber  where  the  good  man  meets  his  fate, 

Is  privileged  beyond  the  common  walk 

Of  virtuous  life,  quite  in  the  verge  of  Heaven." 

In  the  early  part  of  the  illness,  the  suffering  was  so 
intense,  he  feared  that  with  the  desire  for  bodily  relief,  he 


LAST  ILLNESS. 


147 


could  not  keep  the  patience.  He  had  full  confidence  in 
the  Divine  Power,  hut  felt  stripped  of  the  evidences  of 
His  presence.  His  beloved  companion  was  led  to  recall 
to  his  recollection  the  situation  and  language  of  the 
Divine  Master,  while  on  the  cross,  when  He  was  buffeted, 
ignoniiniously  treated,  and  felt  forsaken  ;  and  the  pathetic 
language  then  used  by  the  dear  Redeemer,  "  My  God, 
my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me that  it  was  not 
for  His  own  state  that  He  was  thus  baptised,  but  for  the 
sins  of  the  whole  world ;  thus  setting  an  example  of  sub- 
mission and  patience  to  His  Father's  will,  under  the 
severest  trials;  and  she  fully  believed  that  if  he  likewise 
dwelt  in  a  measure  of  the  same  patience  he  would  yet 
have  to  praise  and  testify  of  the  Lord's  goodness  and 
mercy  to  his  soul ;  and  this  language  of  encouragement 
brought  to  him  consolation  in  his  continued  great  bodily 
sufferings.  He  regarded  this  as  his  last  illness,  felt  a 
submission  to  his  approaching  end,  and  that  the  way  was 
clear  before  him.  He  felt  at  peace  with  all  mankind, 
knew  not  that  he  had  an  enemy  in  the  world,  that  he  had 
done  all  in  his  power  to  assist  others,  had  done  what  he 
could  to  educate  his  children,  but  had  not  been  concerned 
to  lay  up  much  riches  for  them.  The  quietude  of  the 
hushed  household  of  scholars  was  grateful  to  his  feelings ; 
they  seemed,  he  said,  to  learn  of  one  another  to  be  kind, 
respectful,  and  considerate.  Little  children  were  called 
to  receive  the  parting  kiss,  with  the  expression  that  even 


148 


LAST  ILLNESS. 


they  might  remember  the  event;  and  he  desired  that 
they  should  not  only  be  taught  useful  learning,  but  in- 
structed in  things  of  a  substantial,  divine  nature.  As 
those  relatives  and  friends  visited  him  who  had  leaned  on 
him  for  protection  and  kindness,  his  regret  seemed 
keenest ;  that  he  must  leave  them  now  to  love  and  help 
one  another.  He  admonished  all  not  to  defer  the  work 
of  preparation-  for  the  scene  they  were  now  witnessing. 
It  was  then  u  a  poor  time  to  lay  up  treasure  in  Heaven. 
Too  many  were  deferring  it  to  a  bed  of  sickness ;  but  it 
should  be  an  every-day  work  of  the  whole  life,  and  that 
all  business  should  be  pursued  with  the  affections  placed 
on  high,  and  the  world  beneath  our  feet.  On  the  en- 
trance of  that  beloved  minister  of  the  Gospel,  Sarah  Em- 
len,  he  said,  "  Thou  knowest  how  faithfully  I  have  endea- 
voured to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  the  Divine  Master, 
devoting  my  life  and  best  ability  to  His  service;"  and  re- 
ceived the  reply,  "  Well  do  I  know  it  and  can  testify  to  it, 
and  I  trust  thou  wilt  be  abundantly  rewarded  for  thy  sub- 
mission to  the  Divine  requisitions  of  our  Holy  Saviour." 
Addressing  his  beloved  wife,  he  said,  "  We  have  been 
united  in  the  bonds  of  endeared  affection  for  more  than 
fifty  years,  and  now  we  are  about  to  suffer  a  final  separa- 
tion on  earth.  I  have  consolation  in  believing  that  we 
have  endeavoured  to  instil  into  the  minds  of  our  children 
the  spirit  of  love,  and  have  set  such  an  example  before 
them  as  in  some  degree  to  be  effectual,  and  desired  that 


LAST  ILLNESS.  149 

this  feeling  should  continue  among  them."  "  We  have 
had  man}-  bitter  cups  through  life  together,  but  nothing 
to  be  compared  with  the  rejoicings  we  have  had." 

As  his  sickness  continued,  aud  his  end  approached,  a 
sweeter  peace,  a  firmer  confidence,  and  a  brighter  hope, 
dawned  upon  the  sufferer.  "  I  could  not  have  thought 
the  way  could  be  made  so  clear.  For  some "  days  I  have 
felt  my  close  to  be  near.  I  know  not  why  it  is — it  is 
no  merit  of  my  own  that  death  is  not  appalling.  It  is 
admirable  mercy  !  It  is  adorable  goodness !  It  is 
adorable  goodness  !  I  hope  I  am  not  deceived ;  but  I 
could  not  feel  this  peace,  were  I  not  enabled  to  trust  in 
His  armour,  whom  I  have  endeavoured  to  serve  all  my 
life  long.  The  longest  life  is  almost  too  short  to  prepare 
for  eternity."  " '  Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard, 
neither  hath  it  entered  into  the  heart  of  man,  to  conceive 
the  good  things  that  the  Lord  hath  in  store  for  those  who 
love  Him.'"  "  The  natural  eye  can  have  no  perception 
of  the  splendour  of  the  New  Jerusalem;  no  outward  re- 
presentation can  give  an  idea  of  it."  "  The  Divine  Wis- 
dom, it  is  all  sufficient  ;  oh,  do  attend  to  it,  the  uncreated 
Word  from  eternity."  "  Verily,  there  is  a  reward  for  the 
righteous."  "  How  short  is  the  space  from  earth  to 
Heaven  !  It  seems  but  a  step."  On  First-day,  the  26th 
of  the  2d  month,  much  relieved  of  bodily  pain,  he  gradu- 
ally sank  away,  and  with  the  close  of  the  day,  departed 

in  that  holy  quiet,  he  had  so  much  enjoyed,  surrounded 

13* 


150 


LAST  ILLNESS. 


by  his  beloved  wife,  children,  relatives  and  friends; 
his  last  request,  "that  they  might  partake  of  a  holy 
quiet" — and  in  that  quiet  his  precious  soul  took  its  flight 
from  time  to  eternity ;  and  after  a  solemn  and  prolonged 
pause,  that  awful  stillness  was  broken  by  the  sweet  tones 
of  one  whose  voice  had  ever  called  her  children  to  a 
"  holy  quiet"  and  everlasting  peace.  Then  most  impres- 
sively were  they  made  to  feel,  and  ever  will  remember, 
that  at  the  death  of  the  righteous, 

"  A  holy  quiet  reigns  around, 
A  calm  which  life  nor  death  destroys ; 

Nothing  disturbs  that  peace  profound, 
Which  his  unfettered  soul  enjoys." 

And  there  did  they  witness  and  verify  the  injuDction  to 
"  Mark  the  perfect  man,  and  behold  the  upright,  for  the 
end  of  that  man  is  peace." 

At  a  subsequent  period,  his  bereft  partner,  adverting 
to  this  interesting  scene,  said,  "  Many  of  his  dear  de- 
scendants and  friends  were  seated  round  his  bed  in 
solemn  silence,  and  were  permitted  to  partake  of  that 
holy  quiet,  and  to  witness  the  calm  resignation  of  his 
mind ;  my  soul  bearing  him  company  through  the  shades 
of  death,  to  the  happy  mansions  of  eternal  bliss  f9  and 
as  a  soul  there  welcomed  "  among  saints  and  angels,  and 
the  spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect,"  did  she  afterwards 
seem  to  behold  him  as  with  the  perception  of  actual 
vision. 


EXPRESSION  OF  SYMPATHY. 


151 


The  voice  of  sorrow  and  sympathy  came  from  many 
sources,  but  from  none  more  sweetly  than  from  the  gifted 
pen  of  one  of  kindred  feelings,  appreciative  of  the  like 
qualities  and  character,  in  the  following  letter,  and  in  an 
obituary  furnished  the  Wyoming  Herald. 

"  Retreat,  March  4th,  1837. 
"  My  Dear  Friend, — Your  lines,  in  the  sweet  words 
of  Ossian,  were  ' pleasant,  but  mournful  to  the  soul.'  To 
have  been  remembered  and  kindly  spoken  of,  by  your 
beloved  father,  our  most  excellent  friend,  in  his  dying 
hour,  was  an  affecting,  but  pleasing  proof  of  his  affection 
for  us.  He  always  showed  to  us  the  consideration  of  a 
parent.  The  early  friendship  of  your  father  and  mother 
— they  seemingly  adopting  us  into  their  family — was  not 
only  a  source  of  social  gratification,  but,  from  their  stand- 
ing in  society,  it  was  a  passport  to  public  respect  and 
favour,  of  the  greatest  value  to  us,  and  was  entitled  to  our 
most  grateful  acknowledgment.  In  a  long  intercourse 
with  the  world,  I  have  never  met  with  a  man  who  united 
in  himself  so  many  claims  to  esteem  and  love.  His 
aspect  was  so  benignant,  his  manner  and  address  were  so 
mild  and  engaging,  that  the  bosom  seemed  to  open  to  him 
in  confidence  before  he  spoke.  Then,  his  clear  mind, 
sound  understanding,  and  benevolent  heart,  commanded 
respect,  inspired  confidence,  and  enabled  him  to  do  so 
much  good  among  his  fellow-men.    Pardon  me,  I  could 


152 


EXPRESSION  OF 


SYMPATHY. 


not  say  less,  though  this  may  not  be  the  proper  place. 
It  is  impossible  not  to  mourn  the  loss  of  so  good  a  man. 
But  we  are  not  without  sources  of  consolation, — his  suf- 
ferings are  ended,  and  his  gain  infinite.  He  had  per- 
formed his  part  in  his  day  and  generation  most  usefully 
and  most  worthily ;  and  while  performing  his  duty, 
through  a  long  life,  he  has  duly  estimated  the  bounties 
of  Providence,  and  rationally  enjoyed  them.  Passed  the 
age  allotted  to  man, — full  of  Christian  hope  and  Christian 
charity, — his  spirit  returns  to  his  Maker,  amid  the  tears 
and  prayers  and  blessings  of  all  who  knew  him.  Who 
can  say  that  such  is  not  a  most  enviable  lot  ?  May  his 
children  emulate  his  virtues,  and  like  him  be  useful,  be- 
loved, and  happy,  to  as  advanced  an  age.  Laetitia  joins 
with  me  in  expression  of  sympathy  and  condolence  to 
your  good  mother.  We  shall  never  forget  her  affectionate 
address  to  us  when  our  dear  Ann  was  taken  away.  Our 
kindest  and  most  respectful  love  waits  upon  her,  and  our 
best  regards  to  yourself  and  all  the  family. 
From  your  sincere  friend, 

"  Charles  Miner. 

"  To  Eli  K.  Price." 

"  Died,  recently,  at  West  Chester,  Chester  county, 
Philip  Price,  aged  74  years.  Friendship  would  claim 
space  in  your  paper,  Mr.  Editor,  to  say  a  word  of  the 
departed :  He  gained  no  laurels  in  the  bloody  field  of 
battle  )  the  clangor  of  the  trumpet  and  the  rolling  of  the 


OBITUARY.  153 

drum  awakened  no  sympathetic  stirrings  in  his  pure  and 
chastened  breast.  A  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends, 
whose  distinguished  doctrinal  tenets  are  derived  from  the 
character  and  precepts  of  our  Saviour — to  love  mercy — 
walk  humbly — not  return  evil  for  evil — when  reviled  to 
revile  not  again, — he  bore  testimony  before  the  world  that 
the  terrible  scourge  of  war  should  be  done  away,  and  man 
cease  to  butcher  his  fellow-man.  I  come  to  tell  of  no 
lucrative  civil  offices  he  filled.  His  heart  never  gave  way 
to  the  proud  aspirations  of  ambition,  though  he  cherished 
a  proper  regard  for  those  who  faithfully  served  their 
country.  Then  what  can  you  tell  us  ?  I  can  tell  you, 
and  record  with  sincerity  and  truth,  a  brief  sketch  of  one 
of  the  worthiest  men  this  generation  has  known. 

w  Philip  Price  was  descended  from  a  very  respectable 
"Welsh  family,  among  the  earliest  settlers  in  Chester 
county.  In  person  he  was  tall,  well  formed,  of  excellent 
though  not  robust  constitution.  His  countenance  mild, 
intelligent,  and  pleasing,  his  movements  dignified  and 
easy,  and  his  manners  and  address  remarkably  bland  and 
prepossessing.  The  mind  of  Mr.  Price  was  well  informed, 
his  judgment  clear  and  strong,  united  to  an  intuitive  per- 
ception of  character,  and  a  ready  apprehension  of  the 
right  and  proper  in  all  matters  of  business.  Though 
seeking  no  distinction  in  the  walks  of  public  life,  it  was 
impossible  but  such  a  man  should  have  extensive  influence 
in  society.    He  had.    And  as  duty  led  him,  it  was  his 


154 


OBITUARY. 


pride  (if  that  word  may  be  used  in  connexion  with  his 
name)  and  pleasure  to  exert  that  influence  for  the  benefit 
of  his  fellow-men. 

"  Mr.  Price  was  among  the  earliest,  most  liberal,  and 
enlightened  of  those  who  broke  in  on  the  old  exhausting 
method  of  farming;  and  took  the  lead  in  introducing 
plaster,  clover,  lime,  and  a  proper  rotation  of  crops,  the 
four  grand  pillars  of  improvement  that  have  raised  and 
sustain  Chester  county  as  one  of  the  most  rich  and  pro- 
ductive districts  in  Pennsylvania.  No  one  had  more  in- 
fluence in  the  excellent  society  of  which  he  was  a  mem- 
ber because  that  influence  was  ever  exercised  wisely  and 
prudently,  in  doing  good.  On  an  eminence,  in  a  most 
romantic  situation,  overlooking  the  fertile  hills  and  rich 
meadows  along  the  Brandy  wine,  his  mansion  was  situ- 
ated, fronting  to  the  east  and  south ;  on  this  elevation, 
his  spirit  seemed  pure  as  the  air  he  breathed  3  his  mind 
appeared  to  expand  with  his  expanded  view,  and  his  spirit 
was  bright  as  beams  of  morning  sun.  Friendly  and 
hospitable,  it  was  delightful  to  visit  there  and  share  in 
the  converse  of  himself  and  his  amiable  and  intelligent 
partner.  After  educating  his  children  with  care,  and 
seeing  all  of  them  happily  settled,  and  most  of  them 
near  him,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Price,  impressed  with  its  great 
importance,  and  taking  a  parental  and  lively  interest  in 
the  improvement  of  the  rising  generation,  accepted  the 


OBITUARY.  155 

situation  of  Superintendents  of  West-Town  School,  where 
they  remained  for  several  years. 

"  Here,  viewing  the  matter  more  closely,  and  actuated 
by  the  most  pure  and  philanthropic  motives,  they  formed 
the  design  to  erect  a  School  for  Girls — somewhat  vary- 
ing and  enlarging  the  scope  and  plan  existing  at  West- 
Town  ;  not  in  rivalship  or  interference  with  that  valuable 
seminary ;  but  opening  their  Halls  .to  many  who  could 
not,  by  the  rules,  be  admitted  there.  A  large  building, 
admirably  adapted  to  the  purpose,  plain,  simple,  yet  neat 
and  commodious,  now  adorns  the  flourishing  village  of 
West  Chester ;  while  the  full  rooms  of  happy  faces,  and 
the  press  for  admittance,  show  that  the  West  Chester 
Boarding  School  for  Girls,  established  by  Philip  and 
Rachel  Price,  has  accomplished  and  is  accomplishing  its 
high  and  benevolent  purpose.  By  the  simple  rule  of 
that  unostentatious  society,  no  marble  monument  will  be 
erected  over  the  remains  of  our  departed  friend ;  but 
while  the  West  Chester  Boarding  School  for  Girls  shall 
last  and  flourish — and  may  it  be  perpetual — there  will  be 
a  monument  to  the  worth  of  Philip  Price  more  honoura- 
ble than  Blenheim  to  its  first  titled  possessor. 

u  At  the  age  of  74,  having  spent  a  life  of  usefulness 
and  virtuous  enjoyment — for  there  never  lived  a  happier 
man — surrounded  by  children  and  friends,  amid  the 
prayers  and  blessings  of  all  who  knew  him,  the  good  man, 
like  the  sun  in  a  mild  summer  evening,  full  of  Christian 


156 


SURVIVING  PARENT. 


faith  and  Christian  hope,  lost  to  our  sight  but  not  extin- 
guished, sinks  calmly  and  sweetly  to  rest." 

Rachel  Price  survived  her  husband  more  than  ten 
years.  She  lived  to  cherish  his  memory,  enforce  his  ex- 
ample, and  enjoy  the  affections  of  her  children,  relatives, 
and  friends.  She  was  especially  the  object  of  the  per- 
sonal care  of  that  daughter,  who  had  for  many  years  been 
resident  with  and  the  comfort  and  solace  of  her  parents, 
whose  father  bore,  as  his  last  testimony  of  her,  that  "  We 
are  of  one  heart  and  of  one  mind;"  whom  all  the  other 
children  considered  as  their  representative  in  that  precious 
and  sacred  charge.  In  the  blended  narrative  the  history 
of  Philip  and  Rachel  Price  has  been  told  in  their  princi- 
pal outlines.  In  a  more  limited  sphere,  in  her  own  meet- 
ing, in  those  near  home,  and  in  her  daughter's  school, 
the  same  earnest  and  pathetic  appeals  in  Gospel  love  con- 
tinued to  be  made  by  the  survivor  unto  the  end. 

A  few  extracts  from  a  letter  written  to  absent  sons,  in 
1839,  will  show  the  continued  occupation  and  concern  of 
her  mind.  "  I  have  much  to  be  thankful  for.  I  am 
still  able  to  get  to  meetings,  to  visit  the  afflicted,  and  my 
children  in  the  neighbourhood,  which  I  consider  a  great 
favour  j  and  also  to  experience  that  love  in  my  heart  to 
increase,  which  binds  together  in  the  bonds  of  life  and 
love.  May  we  all  know  a  partaking  thereof,  and  obey 
the  command  of  our  Redeemer,  given  to  his  immediate 
followers,  that  we  love  one  another,  for  1  by  this  shall  all 


SURVIVING  PARENT. 


157 


men  know  ye  are  my  disciples,  if  ye  love  one  another.' " 
*  *  "I  am  solicitous  that  for  the  short  time  I  may 
yet  have  to  remain,  I  may  be  enabled  to  fulfil  my  duty 
towards  you ;  yea,  to  double  my  diligence,  craving  Divine 
aid  therein,  and  I  recommend  to  all  of  you  who  have 
tender  plant*  committed  to  your  care,  to  endeavour  to 
guard  and  protect  them  from  the  many  defilements  of 
this  vain  world,  and  the  besetments  of  the  enemy  of  our 
souls'  happiness ;  who  is  seeking  to  draw  our  minds  off 
the  watch,  and  encumbering  them  with  the  cares  of  the 
world.  I  know  by  experience  that  there  is  a  great  care 
necessary  for  those  who  have  large  families  to  provide 
for,  to  guard  against  the  unlawful  love  of  lawful  things  ; 
and  the  language  is,  1  Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God 
and  his  righteousness,  and  all  these  things  shall  be  added 
unto  you,  for  your  Heavenly  Father  knoweth  that  ye 
have  need  of  these  things.'  Let  us  endeavour  to  be  in 
readiness  when  the  solemn  inquiry  may  be  made,  1  What 
have  you  done  with  the  lambs  committed  to  your  care  in 
the  wilderness  of  this  world  ?'  May  we  not  have  to  an- 
swer that  while  we  were  busy,  hither  and  thither,  they 
made  their  escape."  "  Men  that  are  engaged  in  public 
business  are  often  exposed  and  in  danger  of  being  drawn 
into  party  feeling  in  politics,  whereby  the  mind  may  be 
much  engrossed,  if  there  be  not  a  strict  watch  maintained; 
but  I  do  hope  a  word  to  the  wise  is  sufficient  to  induce  a 
renewed  care  upon  this  subject,  as  coming  from  the  heart 

14 


158  SURVIVING  PARENT. 

of  an  affectionate  mother,  whose  petitions  are  often  put 
up,  in  sincerity  and  truth,  on  behalf  of  herself  and  en- 
deared offspring." 

In  the  last  week  of  her  life,  a  son,  then  visiting  her, 
writes  to  his  distant  sister :  "It  is  very  gratifying  to  find 
that  with  the  infirmity  of  disease  and  great  age  upon  her, 
our  dear  mother  retains  a  clear  mind,  and  the  dispositions 
and  affections  that  have  characterized  her  through  life. 
None  of  the  irritation  and  fretfulness  that  is  so  frequently 
incident  to  such  age  and  sickness  is  perceived.  On  the 
contrary,  like  our  father,  she  regrets  her  inability  to  help 
herself,  and  expresses  a  grateful  feeling  for  all  the  atten- 
tions she  receives.  There  is  a  quiet  dignity  that  will 
probably  remain  with  her,  however  much  she  may  be 
enfeebled  by  the  further  progress  of  disease  and  age. 
Love  to  all  mankind  abounds  with  her,  and  this  love  and 
the  religious  sentiments  with  which  she  has  been  so 
thoroughly  imbued  through  life,  remain  with  her,  as  part 
of  her  nature,  only  to  cease  their  manifestations  with  the 
extinction  of  life.  Many  are  the  scriptural  expressions 
she  continues  to  repeat  to  us,  with  the  same  sweetness 
she  has  ever  uttered  them  from  the  gallery  and  in  the 
family  circle,  on  serious  occasions.  These  are  now  addi- 
tionally impressive,  as  they  may  be  the  last,  and  are 
sanctioned  and  sanctified  as  if  they  were,  as  she  expects 
not  to  be  long  with  us.  She  has  not  strength  to  enlarge 
in  her  remarks,  but  from  time  to  time  repeats  those  truths 


HER  LAST  ILLNESS.  159 

which  abide  with  her, — expressions  and  promises  which 
are  not  only  her  own  reliance  and  source  of  comfort  in 
the  extremity  of  life,  but  which  she  wishes  to  impress 
upon  her  children  as  their  reliance  and  as  their  hope  for 
the  future  j — '  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are 
heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest/  '  Take  my  yoke 
upon  you,  and  learn  of  me  ;  for  I  am  meek  and  lowly  of 
heart,  and  ye  shall  find  rest  unto  your  souls.'  1  Christ's 
invitation  is  for  all  to  come  unto  him ;  I  will  give  unto 
him  that  is  athirst  of  the  waters  of  life  freely/  &c.  The 
great  end  and  purpose  of  religious  faith  she  summed  up 
in  this:  'To  know  Thee,  the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus 
Christ  whom  thou  hast  sent,  this  is  Life  Eternal  j?  and 
her  last  charge  to  that  son  was,  '  Keep  a  guarded  care 
over  all  those  placed  under  thy  authority.  Be  obedient  unto 
the  law  written  in  the  heart;  and  endeavour  to  draw 
others  unto  it;  in  this  you  will  find  your  present  and 
everlasting  peace!  "  A  few  days  after,  when  expecting 
her  close,  he  wrote,  "  I  am  sad  and  sorrowful ;  yet  my 
reflection  teaches  me  I  should  be  otherwise.  Our  mother 
has  reached  a  great  age,  and  a  continuance  of  life  would 
be  a  burthen  to  the  spirit.  Her  long  life  has  been  one 
uniform  and  beautiful  example,  and  at  fourscore  and  four 
years  of  age,  the  intellect  is  bright ;  to  the  last  her  heart 
has  remained  full  of  love  and  affection  to  all  of  human 
kind.  Through  nearly  a  whole  century,  she  has  in  sim- 
plicity and  truthfulness  preached  the  precepts  of  Jesus, 


160  HER  LAST  ILLNESS. 

and  she  departs  without  a  blemish  or  a  shade  upon  her 
character  or  intellect.  If  the  Gospel  truths  she  preached 
were  few  and  simple,  their  influence  was  constantly  pre- 
sent, and  imparted  their  own  serious  and  sublime  simpli- 
city to  her  character.  These  deeply  felt  and  sincerely 
believed,  with  a  constant  hope  beyond  this  life,  she 
seemed  never  to  suffer  vacillation  from  doubts  or  natural 
propensities,  in  conflict  with  the  holy  influences  that 
dwelt  on  her  mind.  Is  it  not  then  a  cause  of  gratitude 
that  the  close  should  be  bright,  and  that,  almost  without 
pain,  her  spirit  should  be  released  from  its  mortal  tene- 
ment ?  Surely  it  is  ;  and  when  her  memory  shall  be  all 
that  is  left  of  her  to  us,  it  will  be  most  pleasing  in  all  the 
residue  of  our  lives  to  reflect  that  she  lived  so  long  and 
so  well,  and  was  gathered  as  the  ripe  corn,  that  felt  not 
the  sickle  that  severed  it  from  its  earthly  connexion/' 
On  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  the  6th  day  of  the  8th 
month,  1847,  he  further  wrote,  "  Our  beloved  mother  has 
departed  this  life.  It  is  now  a  solemn  certainty  that  we 
have  heard  her  sweet  voice  for  the  last  time ;  that  we 
shall  see  her  living  countenance  no  more, — so  divinely 
good.  If  the  good  recognise  each  other  in  the  future 
world,  then  have  the  blessed  spirits  of  our  beloved  parents 
met  this  day  in  joy,  and  felt  the  felicity  that  they  were 
united  in  an  endless  bliss.  This  was  our  dear  mother's 
fervent  hope,  expressed  for  herself  and  beloved  offspring. 


BURIAL. 


161 


May  her  hope  and  prayer  be  realized,  no  one  missing  to 
mar  the  heavenly  joy." 

Appropriately  was  it  asked  at  the  last  solemn  gather- 
ing, when  the  remains  of  those  who  so  loved  in  life  were 
placed  together  in  their  last  resting-place, 

"  Oh  grave  !  where  is  thy  victory? 
Oh  death  !  where  is  thy  sting  ?" 

At  Birmingham,  their  earthly  remains  repose.  There 
they  tranquilly  sleep  beneath  the  soil  once  trod  by  hostile 
feet ;  on  the  spot  where  the  battle  was  fought,  and  foe 
met  foe  in  deadly  strife.  It  was  the  scene  of  their  peace- 
ful mission.  There  they  preached  peace  on  earth  and  good 
will  toward  men.  Thence  are  seen  the  hills  of  Brandy- 
wine,  the  stream  that  gave  name  to  the  battle,  clothed 
with  the  verdure  that  sprung  beneath  their  culture.  The 
demon  of  war  has  fled, — the  trace  of  the  battle  has 
gone, — the  spirit  of  peace  rests  on  the  scene, — and  as 
often  as  the  returning  seasons  shall  bring  life  and  beauty 
to  these  hills  and  vales,  will  they  freshly  bring  to  mind 
the  memory  of  these  benefactors.  No  monument  marks 
their  grave ;  no  epitaph  speaks  on  their  tomb ;  but  the 
vernal  bloom  of  these  hills  is  a  living  testimony  of  their 
peaceful  deeds.  No  lettered  marble  can  speak  their 
praise ;  but  their  name,  their  worth,  their  memory,  are 
written  on  the  tablets  of  living  hearts ;  hearts,  wherever 

they  are,  hither  turning  in  affection,  will,  in  their  faith 
14* 


162  CHARACTER. 

and  hope  and  love,  soar  to  the  view  of  the  blissful  re- 
union of  souls  in  a  Heavenly  mansion. 

In  all  the  relations  of  life,  Philip  and  Rachel  Price 
were  consistent  with  the  professions  they  made  before  the 
world.  They  were  mild  in  temper,  of  equable  disposi- 
tion, and  exempt  from  the  irritability  and  eccentricity 
of  character  that  often  impair  the  dignity  and  usefulness 
of  those  of  more  active  imagination  and  brilliant  genius, 
and  consequently  more  practically  useful  and  more  gene- 
rally beloved.  They  were  friendly  and  social  with  their 
neighbours,  rendering  aid  in  times  of  need,  visiting  the 
sick  and  the  house  of  mourning.  They  had  differences 
with  none,  were  pacificators  among  others,  and  lived  and 
died  without  an  enemy.  To  say  that  in  all  his  transac- 
tions Philip  Price  was  governed  by  a  strict  integrity, 
would  be  short  of  what  the  truth  requires.  His  disposi- 
tion to  oblige  seemed  not  to  be  less  than  that  of  one  who 
loved  his  neighbour  as  himself,  and  his  property,  his 
money,  and  his  credit,  were  lent  according  to  his  ability, 
and  if  erring,  it  was  on  the  side  of  excess  of  liberality. 
In  aiding  the  progress  of  travelling  Friends,  and  in  their 
entertainment,  and  in  providing  travelling  accommoda- 
tions for  relatives,  to  reach  their  meetings,  and  perform 
their  social  and  other  visits,  his  arrangements  were  well 
contrived  and  his  facilities  liberally  contributed.  It  is 
believed  that  more  than  half  his  time  was  devoted  to 
duties  of  a  social,  religious,  and  humane  character,  in  the 


CHARACTER.  163 

performance  of  which  it  is  not  known  that  he  was  ever 
deterred  by  adverse  weather. 

In  the  delicate  and  responsible  office  of  administering 
the  discipline  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  Philip  Price, 
while  firm  in  its  execution,  was  ever  compassionate  and 
charitable,  and  sincerely  actuated  by  the  desire  to  reclaim 
an  erring  brother,  and  it  was  only  when  he  believed  the 
vindication  of  its  testimonies  required  it,  that  he  con- 
curred in  the  judgment  of  disownment  from  the  society. 
In  the  transaction  of  business  in  its  meetings,  he  was 
inclined  to  wait  for  the  expression  of  the  views  of  others, 
and  if  these  expressed  his  own,  he  felt  discharged  from 
an  obligation  to  repeat  them.  The  forward  he  would 
privately  counsel  to  observe  a  salutary  restraint ;  while 
the  diffident  would  receive  from  him  encouragement  in 
this  wise, — "  If  we  wait  until  we  are  perfect  before  we 
attempt  to  do  good,  there  are  few  of  us  that  can  do  much 
good.  Do  what  appears  to  thee  to  be  right  for  thee  to 
do,  and  trust  that  strength  will  be  given  to  go  through  it 
with  consistency  and  with  the  Divine  approval." 

As  superintendents  of  schools,  their  judicious  conduct, 
kindness,  and  humanity,  were  conspicuously  manifest 
In  a  letter  recently  received  from  Benjamin  Hallowell, 
of  Alexandria,  Va.,  who  was  a  teacher  at  "West-Town, 
from  1821  to  1824,  and  a  competent  judge  of  long  and 
yet  continuing  experience,  he  bears  this  testimony, — "  I 
have  always  looked  back  to  the  time  spent  there  as  the 


164  CHARACTER. 

most  important  and  improving  period  of  my  life,  which  I 
attribute,  mainly,  to  the  dear  Friends,  Philip  and  Rachel 
Price,  in  immediate  charge  of  the  institution.  No  per- 
sons could  have  been  more  admirably  qualified  for  such  a 
charge.  They  invariably  manifested  towards  every  mem- 
ber of  the  large  family,  which,  including  teachers,  scholars, 
and  domestics,  numbered  over  two  hundred,  the  feelings 
of  deeply  concerned  parents,  urging  to  a  faithful  per- 
formance of  individual  duty,  and  to  the  maintenance  of 
mutual  kindness,  confidence,  and  affection.  In  the  deli- 
cate relation  of  umpire  in  cases  of  difficulty  between 
teachers  and  scholars,  the  mild,  deliberate,  and  concerned 
manner  of  the  Superintendent  (Philip  Price),  was  re- 
markably successful.  He  was  much  opposed,  from  prin- 
ciple, to  corporal  punishments,  and  the  committee  who 
were  at  that  time  in  charge  of  the  institution,  wisely 
adopted  the  regulation  that  previous  to  the  teachers7  re- 
sorting to  this  mode  of  correction,  the  case  of  difficulty 
should  be  laid  before  the  Superintendent  and  his  sanction 
obtained.  When  the  men  teachers  all  united  in  judg- 
ment that  the  conduct  of  a  boy  had  been  such  that  cor- 
poral punishment  must  be  inflicted,  they  laid  the  case  be- 
fore the  Superintendent.  After  hearing  the  statement 
of  the  teachers,  he  usually  sat  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes 
with  them  in  the  most  solemn  stillness,  and  manifestly 
under  an  intense  exercise  and  concern  that  a  right  judg- 
ment might  prevail  in  the  case ;  and  I  have  known  in 


SOCIAL  DISPOSITION.  165 

repeated  instances,  the  influence  of  his  precious  spirit  so 
to  operate  upon  the  minds  of  the  teachers,  that,  without 
his  uttering  a  single  word,  they  would  unitedly  propose 
a  milder  treatment ;  and,  what  it  was  very  interesting  to 
observe,  there  was  not  a  single  instance,  where  the  milder 
course  was  adopted  under  these  circumstances,  which  was 
not  entirely  satisfactory  and  successful  in  the  result,  veri- 
fying the  expression  of  Scripture,  '  the  effectual,  fervent 
prayer  of  a  righteous  man  availeth  much/  " 

This  narrative  has  so  much  dwelt  upon  the  serious  and 
solemn  duties  of  life  and  religion,  with  which  its  objects 
were  engaged,  that  an  erroneous  impression  may  be  taken 
as  to  some  of  the  traits  of  their  character.  It  is  true 
that  a  serious  dignity  was  ever  present,  because  they  pos- 
sessed a  native  dignity  of  character,  and  the  habitual  dis- 
charge of  constantly  recurring  solemn  duties  naturally 
produced  a  serious  thoughtfulness ;  but  no  persons  were 
less  encased  by  a  repulsive  self-righteousness,  or  were 
more  attractively  inviting  to  cheerful,  happy,  and  inno- 
cent society.  They  delighted  to  commingle  in  feeling 
even  with  playful  childhood,  and  a  vein  of  pleasant 
humour  kindly  indulged  by  Philip  Price  towards  others, 
and  particularly  the  youthful,  made  his  company  always 
acceptable,  and  begot  for  him  their  confidence  and  affec- 
tion. Thousands  yet  living,  who  have  experienced  the 
cheerful  kindness,  regard,  and  sympathy  of  Philip  and 
Rachel  Price,  will  bear  their  testimony  to  these  qualities 


166  THE  MINISTRY. 

of  their  hearts  j  and  travel  where  they  might  over  the 
wide  territory  of  our  country,  their  descendants  have  ever 
enjoyed  the  happiness  of  finding  such  testimony  warmly 
and  affectionately  borne  to  the  memory  of  their  departed 
parents. 

Upon  the  subject  of  the  ministry,  our  beloved  mother 
has  left  some  observations  that  it  may  be  useful  to  repeat 
and  preserve.  Preaching  in  the  will  of  man,  and  with 
the  effort  of  human  eloquence,  she  considered  wholly  irre- 
concileable  with  the  sacredness  of  the  service  and  the 
profession  of  Friends,  that  the  Gospel  ministry  can  only 
consist  in  the  faithful  delivery  of  the  message  Divinely 
communicated.  It  is,  she  instructs  us,  "an  awfully 
responsible  station  to  fill,  to  be  made  use  of  as  an  instru- 
ment in  the  hands  of  the  Lord,  and  to  speak  to  the  peo- 
ple in  His  Holy  name.  The  eye  must  be  kept  single; 
the  blind  must  not  lead  the  blind ;  all  human  importance 
be  suppressed,  nor  man  presume  to  add  to  or  diminish 
the  words  of  prophecy,  lest  he  experience  condemnation, 
and  lose  his  part  in  the  book  of  life.  Let  not  the  leaders 
of  the  people  cause  them  to  err,  by  drawing  them  into 
sects,  party  divisions,  and  controversy,  wholly  at  variance 
with  the  spirit  of  true  religion,  which  breathes  peace  on 
earth  and  good  will  to  men.  The  temptation  to  arrogate 
consequence,  and  minister  to  the  great  Myself,  ever  besets 
poor  human  nature, — the  king,  priest,  and  people, — and 
the  important  '1/  'me,'  and  'mine/  become  painfully 


THE  MINISTRY.  167 

conspicuous  in  their  emphatic  and  frequent  use  in  the 
hearing  of  the  unselfish  and  devoted  worshippers  of  God, 
who  ever  ascribe  to  Him  and  the  Saviour,  the  merit  and 
glory,  as  they  alone  are  the  source  of  all  that  is  good  and 
perfect.  These  self-important  teachers  forget  that  they 
are  no  longer  safe  than  while  they  obey  the  injunction 
of  the  Master,  '  Watch  and  pray  continually,  lest  you 
enter  into  temptation.'  Let  them  not  take  the  Lord's 
jewels  to  decorate  self,  and  give  the  praise  to  the  creature 
that  belongs  to  the  Creator ;  and  let  them  remember  the 
caution  that  even  the  Apostle  Paul  took  unto  himself,  of 
the  necessity  of  keeping  the  body  in  subjection  when  he 
preached  to  others,  lest  he  should  be  himself  a  castaway. 
Let  all  who  presume  to  speak  in  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
seriously  consider  the  import  of  Christ's  declarations, 
'Freely  you  have  received — freely  give;'  and  that  'all 
who  will  come,  may  come,  and  partake  of  the  waters  of 
life  freely,  without  money  and  without  price.'  I  conceive 
there  is  great  danger  of  being  cast  away,  from  the  impru- 
dent caresses  of  those  who  may  feel  very  much  attached 
to  the  favoured  instruments,  and  who  manifest  their 
regard  even  unto  personal  flattery,  of  the  poor  frail  vessel 
through  which  the  pure  spring  of  living  water  may  flow 
to  the  people,  for  their  refreshment  and  consolation.  But 
these  are  only  earthly  vessels,  subject  to  be  injured  and 
liable  to  fall,  if  by  heeding  the  applause  of  men  they  be- 
come self-consequent  and  self-important.    1  Let  him  who 


168  APOLOGETIC  OBSERVATIONS. 

thinketh  he  standeth  take  heed  lest  he  fall.'  May  the 
humble,  self-denying  followers  of  Christ,  be  encouraged  to 
take  up  the  cross  daily,  considering  nothing  too  near  or  too 
dear  to  part  with,  so  that  they  may  obtain  that  crown  of 
glory  which  is  laid  up  in  store  for  all  those  who  love  the 
appearance  of  Jesus  in  the  heart,  and  yield  to  it  in 
obedience." 

In  delineating  the  lives  of  Philip  and  Rachel  Price,  it 
has  seemed  unavoidable  to  speak  of  the  faith,  testimonies, 
and  usages  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  In  that  society 
they  "  lived,  moved,  and  had  their  being."  Engaged  in 
the  active  and  practical  duties  of  life  and  religion,  and 
making  communications  that  were  chiefly  oral  and  unpre- 
served,  the  filling  up  of  the  history  of  their  services, 
character,  and  principles,  was  properly  to  be  drawn  from 
those  of  their  religious  society.  So  far  as  the  writer  has 
been  enabled  to  give  a  correct  view  of  these,  the  result 
cannot  fail  to  be  useful.  But  it  is  right  that  his  own 
observations  and  reflections  should  be  accompanied  by 
certain  cautionary  remarks.  He  is  not  a  member  of  the 
society,  and  speaks  by  no  authority  as  such.  He  espe- 
cially desires  that  nothing  he  has  said  may  be  construed 
as  favouring  either  division  into  which  Friends  have  un- 
happily separated  over  the  other,  or  as  casting  a  censure 
upon  either.  He  regards  that  separation  but  with  regret 
and  sorrow ;  and  it  is  irrespective  of  it  that  he  has  felt 
bound  to  reiterate  the  expression  of  his  love  and  admira- 


ATTACKS  UPON  FRIENDS. 


169 


tion  of  the  principles,  testimonies,  faith,  and  practices  of 
the  society.  He  has  felt  great  fear  and  delicacy  in 
handling  serious  and  sacred  subjects,  as  one  little  autho- 
rized to  touch  them ;  while  the  duty  of  writing  this 
Memoir  of  his  parents,  so  long  neglected  and  so  likely  to 
be  wholly  omitted  by  others,  has  appeared  to  be  unniis- 
takeable  and  imperative.  And  again,  he  has  had  the 
consolation  of  knowing  that  for  all  errors  committed,  no 
one  else  than  himself  can  be  held  responsible,  while  from 
himself  much  cannot  have  been  expected ;  and  as  no  in- 
fluence can  be  exerted  further  than  as  truth  shall  manifest 
itself  to  the  ||eceptance  of  his  readers,  so  will  error  as 
readily  expose  itself  to  be  detected  and  rejected. 

Since  all  of  this  volume  was  written  except  what  shall 
now  be  introduced  by  this  paragraph,  a  work  has  appeared 
of  peculiar  virulence  and  injustice  in  its  charges  against 
Friends.  Such  charges  have  been  infrequent  in  modern 
times,  for  the  world  had  begun  to  appreciate  and  do  justice 
to  the  principles  and  services  of  the  society.  In  the 
enjoyment  of  the  happy  toleration  and  equality  of  all 
religious  persuasions  under  the  Constitutions  of  these 
United  States,  where  no  one  sect  can  exact  tithes  from 
those  who  share  not  in  its  worship ;  where  all  support  to 
the  church  is  a  voluntary  tribute,  and  no  one  can  claim 
pre-eminence  over  another,  the  causes  of  irritation  have 
so  far  ceased  that  we  find  all  disposed  kindly  to  co-operate 

in  all  good  works,  and  it  has  become  a  matter  of  more 
15 


170 


ATTACKS  UPON  FRIENDS. 


than  questionable  taste  and"  propriety  for  any  one  to 
attack  another ;  for  all  are  alike  bound  to  respect  that 
toleration  under  which  each  enjoys  its  own  immunity 
from  encroachment.  There  is  one  cause,  however,  yet 
operative  to  produce  the  recurrence  of  attacks  upon  the 
Society  of  Friends.  They  have  ever  held  it  to  be  their 
duty,  by  a  mutual  watchfulness  and  supervision,  to  keep 
their  members  to  a  consistent  observance  of  the  pure  and 
exalted  principles  and  conduct  of  their  religious  profes- 
sion, and  to  disown  from  membership  those  whom  patient 
and  forbearing  Christian  entreaty  fails  to  preserve  from 
bringing  a  reproach  upon  the  Gospel  trutftf*  Those  who 
are  unwilling  to  take  up  the  cross  and  sacrifice  their 
worldly  desires  and  vanities,  impatiently  submit  to  the 
administration  of  the  discipline,  and  in  leaving  the  society, 
sometimes  let  fly  their  Parthian  arrows  envenomed  by 
resentment.  A  companion  of  our  youth,  and  a  frequent 
visitor  under  the  roof  of  the  subjects  of  this  Memoir, 
found  the  society,  its  discipline  and  doctrines,  uncongenial 
to  his  inclinations,  taste,  and  convictions,  and  employed 
his  well  remembered  characteristic  powers  of  ridicule, 
and  his  acquired  biblical  learning,  to  prove  "  Quakerism 
not  Christianity;"  but  this  eminent  Presbyterian  minister 
did  not  condescend  to  become  the  industrious  ferreter  of 
private  vices,  or  the  betrayer  of  the  confidences  of  friend- 
ship and  hospitality.  His  polemic  work  of  near  seven 
hundred  pages,  was  sufficiently  answered  in  a  pamphlet 


ATTACKS  UPON  FRIENDS.  171 

of  seventy,  in  "  Vindication  of  the  Society  of  Friends/' 
by  Enoch  Lewis.  This  co-labourer,  through  life,  of  my 
parents,  but  yet,  at  near  an  octogenarian  age,  actively 
engaged  to  enlighten  his  fellow-citizens  and  serve  human- 
ity, has,  in  this  vindication,  and  in  all  his  writings  and 
example  in  life,  appeared  to  be  the  more  valuable  in  his 
advocacy,  as  showing  that  in  the  same  mind  and  bosom 
may  reign  in  congenial  consistency  the  high  attainments 
and  severe  habits  of  thought  of  mathematical  and  ab- 
stract science,  together  with  the  belief  of  the  inspired 
influences  of  religion,  as  operative  on  the  sensibility  of 
the  heart. 

The  most  recent  attack,  first  above  referred  to,  "  Qua- 
kerism, or  Story  of  my  Life,"  is  a  painful  exhibition,  not 
of  the  indulgence  of  playful  ridicule,  or  a  battle  upon 
polemical  differences,  but  of  a  sad  perversion  of  the 
writer's  own  feelings,  and  of  her  willingness  to  seek  out 
foibles  and  delinquencies,  that,  so  far  as  founded  in  the 
semblance  of  truth,  are  exceptional  cases  from  the  general 
rule,  and  evincive  that  she  was  stimulated  by  resentment, 
or  prompted  by  an  appetite  that  sought  its  own  conge- 
nial food  in  what  it  fed  upon.  The  powers  of  fiction  that 
were  cultivated  in  stolen  opportunities  of  novel  reading, 
in  disobedience  to  the  injunctions  of  her  father,  have  been 
turned  in  abuse  and  disparagement  of  the  principles  and 
practices  which  that  father  cherished  as  his  life ;  and  her 
production  involves  the  obvious  contradictions  that  if  the 


172 


ATTACKS  UPON  FRIENDS. 


writer  had  not  had  a  high  appreciation  of  the  reputation 
of  the  society,  she  would  not  have  been  so  deeply  morti- 
fied in  her  vanity  by  her  disownment  and  deprivation  of  a 
share  therein,  and  that  without  its  excellent  and  purifying 
principles  and  practices  her  no  doubt  justly  lauded  father 
would  not  have  had  so  high  an  estimate  of  them,  nor 
have  become  their  exponent  in  the  pious  and  excellent 
character  she  describes.  Did  it  never  occur  to  that 
daughter  how  much  she  might  be  grieving  the  spirit  of 
that  father,  in  her  unmitigated  ridicule  and  abuse  of  his 
nearest  friends  and  dearly  cherished  religious  profession? 
It  is  needless,  however,  to  attempt  special  refutation  of 
her  perversions  and  defamations,  for  they  are  apparent  in 
the  perusal  of  the  book,  and  are  contradicted  by  the  his- 
tory of  Friends,  and  the  every-day  intercourse  of  all  who 
have  lived  among  them.  Of  whom  can  it  be  more  fear- 
lessly asserted  that  they  have  ever  been  engaged  to  do 
those  things  that  the  Saviour  of  men  declared  would  ob- 
tain the  blessing  of  the  Father  and  the  inheritance  of  the 
kingdom  prepared  from  the  foundation  of  the  world? 
When  have  they  not  given  to  the  hungered  meat,  to  the 
thirsty  drink,  to  the  stranger  shelter,  clothed  the  naked, 
visited  the  sick  and  imprisoned  ?  Who  more  sturdily 
fought  the  battle  of  religious  freedom  and  political 
equality,  and  separation  of  Church  and  State,  than  Fox 
and  Penn,  and  their  associates,  and  gave  their  principles 
trial  and  example  in  Pennsylvania,  whence  they  have  been 


ATTACKS  UPON  FRIENDS.  173 

perpetuated  in  all  the  Constitutions  of  all  the  States  of 
this  Union  ?  Who,  but  Friends,  were  the  chief  support 
of  Wilberforce,  Pitt,  Fox,  Clarkson,  and  others,  when 
Parliament  abolished  the  unutterable  horrors  of  the  Afri- 
can slave  trade  ?  Who  led  the  way  to  the  abolition  of 
slavery  in  these  States,  but  devoted  and  conscientious 
Friends,  who  yielded  to  the  operations  of  the  Spirit  of 
the  Almighty  upon  their  hearts,  when  all  the  rest  of  man- 
kind were  blinded  by  self-interest,  or  unfaithful  to  the 
manifestations  of  Divine  Truth  ?  Who  so  humane  and 
just  towards  the  helpless  aborigines  of  our  continent?  and 
who  else  refused  to  take  from  them  by  power  and  hold  by 
force,  natural  rights,  that  the  God  of  Nature  had  con- 
ferred upon  the  sons  of  the  forest  ?  Who  but  they  were 
the  pioneers  in  the  blessed  cause  of  temperance  for  ages 
before  others  were  touched  by  the  modern  zeal  upon  that 
subject  ?  Who  after  Howard,  like  Elizabeth  Fry,  de- 
scended into  foul  dungeons,  and  among  the  worse  living 
pollutions  of  the  prisons,  for  their  purification  and  reform, 
sustained  by  the  wealth  and  influences  of  brothers  of 
kindred  feelings  of  humanity  ? — yet  are  these  the  special 
objects  of  the  aspersion  of  this  perverse  writer — and 
that  even  in  the  matter  of  food  absolutely  required  by 
the  condition  of  the  health  of  a  delicate  and  lovely  wo- 
man, broken  down  and  exhausted  by  her  constant  and 
devoted  services  for  the  relief  of  the  most  suffering  and 
most  neglected  portions  of  humanity.    It  might  reasona- 


174  THEIR  GOOD  DEEDS. 

bly  have  been  expected  that  one  who  was  sacrificing 
health  and  life  for  the  good  of  others,  could  receive  the 
sustenance  medically  advised,  and  required  to  prolong 
her  strength  yet  a  little  longer  to  serve  her  suffering  fel- 
low-beings, without  the  reproach  of  a  woman,  claiming 
the  refinement  of  a  lady,  and  even  a  more  saving  faith  in 
the  religion  of  Jesus.  But  in  those  who  respect  not  the 
memory  of  the  good  and  the  humane,  nor  yet  the  sanctity 
of  the  grave,  what  trust  can  we  have  ?  The  Christian 
world  will,  however,  believe  the  mark  quite  too  high  and 
pure  to  be  reached  by  the  shafts  sped  by  private  pique  or 
malevolence.  That  world  has  already  awarded  to  Eliza- 
beth Fry,  and  to  those  brothers  who  in  honouring  her 
drafts  in  favour  of  suffering  humanity  honoured  them- 
selves, the  homage  of  its  praise  and  admiration  and  a 
world-wide  renown ;  and  when,  in  a  holy  sympathy  for 
suffering,  she  gratefully  thanked  them  with  the  exclama- 
tion, "What  sister  has  such  brothers  as  I !"  and  they 
happily  replied,  "  What  brothers  have  such  a  sister  as 
we!"  that  world  did  them  the  justice  to  believe  that 
this  exultation  of  gratified  feeling  had  its  source  in  a 
pure  and  holy  Fountain. 

And  who,  when  the  world  was  stirred  in  sympathy  for 
famished  Ireland,  and  poured  into  that  devoted  island  its 
stores  of  relief — who  were  so  trusted  and  so  useful  in  the 
distribution  of  its  concentrated  charity,  as  some  of  these 
abused  Quakers,  whom  this  self-deluded  and  uncharitable 


THEIR  GOOD  DEEDS. 


175 


authoress  would  expect  the  world  to  believe  are  as  a 
society  a  whited  sepulchre  without,  and  full  of  loathsome 
corruptions  within  ?  But  turn  we  where  we  may,  where 
are  not  the  evidences  of  the  good  deeds  of  these  Samari- 
tan people  ?  Everywhere  they  are  seen  to  instruct  the 
youth,  clothe  and  feed  the  poor,  to  visit  the  sick  and  im- 
prisoned, to  teach  the  blind  and  the  dumb,  and  to  preach 
the  Gospel,  not  among  themselves  only,  but  among  and 
to  all  others,  without  money  and  without  price.  And — 
most  blessed  triumph  of  humanity  ! — they  taught  man- 
kind most  successfully  to  minister  unto  the  most  afflicted 
portion  of  humanity — to  those  bereft  of  reason — by  the 
sure  approaches  of  kindness  and  sympathy  to  hearts  mis- 
takenly supposed,  in  the  prostration  of  a  rational  account- 
ability, to  be  dead  to  all  the  feelings  of  humanity.  They 
rescued  these  unfortunate  beings,  so  often  the  victims 
of  feelings  that  but  make  their  sensibilities  the  more 
acute,  from  confinement  and  punishments,  cruel  even 
when  inflicted  for  crime ;  struck  from  them  fetters  and 
shackles,  fit  instruments  themselves  to  dethrone  the 
reason  and  drive  even  sanity  into  madness ;  and  brought 
them  from  dungeons  into  the  light  of  day,  and  the  pre- 
sence of  the  glorious  works  of  nature,  and  into  the  social 
intercourse  and  sympathy  of  their  fellow-beings,  all  so 
soothing  and  restorative  to  the  lacerated  feelings,  whether 
writhing  under  real  or  imaginary  woes.  So  long  was  it 
before  those  that  in  ancient  times  were  spoken  of  as 


176        SEEKING  NO  EARTHLY  REWARD. 

having  "  a  devil/'  were  treated  otherwise  than  if  really 
so  possessed.  Some  gifted  medical  men  had  suggested 
the  beneficent  idea,  and  partially  tried  the  experiment  of 
the  reverse  treatment ;  but  it  was  in  Friends'  Retreat,  at 
York,  in  England,  and  in  Friends'  Asylum,  at  Frankford, 
in  Pennsylvania,  where  the  happy  suggestion  was  more 
effectually  tried  and  proved  for  the  adoption  of  the  world. 
Strange,  indeed,  seems  it  now,  that  mankind  could  have 
expected  cure  to  the  mind  from  distracting  exasperations, 
more  than  that  the  healing  process  could  close  a  wound 
ever  irritated  by  rude  appliances  and  fresh  inflictions. 
But  slow  has  man  always  been  to  learn  that  the  chief  of 
human  aids,  to  remedy  all  bodily  or  mental,  moral,  politi- 
cal or  religious  ailments,  is  to  remove  all  causes  of  aggra- 
vation, thereby  to  permit  the  delicate  processes  of  cure 
quietly  to  proceed,  by  the  beneficently  healing  and  restora- 
tive power  that  gave  and  preserves  life,  health,  and  men- 
tal sanity.  And  lastly,  who  follow  so  nearly  in  the  foot- 
steps of  Jesus,  in  His  example  and  commandments,  for 
the  preservation  of  good  feeling  and  peace  among  men  ? 
Friends  seek  not  political  power,  they  claim  no  distinc- 
tion, aspire  to  no  earthly  fame,  neither  is  their  kingdom 
of  this  world.  All  the  favour  they  ask  is  that  men 
should  love  one  another,  forbear  to  persecute,  cease  to 
injure  and  make  war  on  each  other,  learn  to  do  well  and 
be  happy ;  all  the  privilege  they  desire  is  to  be  permitted 
humbly  to  do  good ;  and  whomsoever  they  may  aid  in 


NO  ASSUMED  PERFECTION.  177 

whatsoever  cause  of  humanity,  all  that  they  ask  is  a 
hearty  co-operation  in  the  service,  and  freely  and  in  wel- 
come may  others  take  all  the  political  power  and  influence 
and  fame.  It  sufficeth  to  them  to  enjoy  the  reward  of  an 
approving  conscience,  and  humbly  to  hope  for  the  final 
award  to  the  good  and  faithful  servant. 

Taking  leave  of  the  Irish  authoress,  the  narrative  will 
proceed  as  it  was  before  written,  nothing  deterred  by  her 
assault,  from  recommending  the  faith,  the  testimonies, 
and  example  of  Friends,  to  the  imitation  of  others.  In 
thus  endeavouring  to  do  them  some  justice  against  a 
wanton  attack,  the  language  used  may  appear  to  be  strong 
and  unreserved ;  yet  will  the  members  of  the  society  be 
the  last  to  suppose,  or  to  wish,  that  they  should  be  repre- 
sented as  faultless.  Some  individuals  will  prove  derelict 
in  all  religious  associations ;  but  it  is  in  their  guileless 
simplicity,  purity  of  motives,  and  unsuspicious  character, 
that  Friends  most  frequently  present  a  mark  for  the 
shafts  of  ridicule,  or  expose  their  motives  to  a  sinister 
interpretation,  by  themselves  unperceived  and  unintended. 
They  admit  the  duty  ever  to  strive  to  be,  but  do  not 
claim  to  be  perfect.  Man's  admitted  imperfection  and 
liability  to  err  lie  at  the  base  of  the  structure  of  their 
church  polity,  which  not  only  exacts  a  constant  self- 
watchfulness,  but  permits  and  claims  as  a  fraternal  duty, 
watchfulness  of  one  over  another,  and  of  all  over  each, 
wherein  the  counsels  of  the  least  given  in  an  authorized 


179  WOMAN'S  POSITION  AND  INFLUENCE. 

concern  may  not  be  unheeded  by  the  greatest.  The  con- 
stant warfare  between  good  and  evil  endures  through  life, 
and  as  constantly  and  enduringly  demands  vigilance  and 
the  invocation  of  Divine  aid  and  protection.  It  is  the 
victory  of  righteousness  over  sin,  that  is  the  great  and 
surest  test  of  true  religion,  and  that  must  be  maintained 
unto  the  end.  A  secured  perfection  is  unattainable  by 
man  on  earth.  It  was  under  a  sense  of  human  infirmity 
that  the  mother  in  Israel  herein  commemorated,  on  whose 
pure  life  no  cloud  for  a  moment  cast  its  shadow,  tasked 
herself,  even  at  fourscore  years  of  age,  to  double  her 
diligence/'  that  she  might  fail  in  no  duty  that  could  pre- 
serve her  highest  peace  of  mind,  and  bring  to  her  bosom 
the  grateful  evidences  of  the  Divine  approval. 

Among  all  the  reforms  and  advances  made  by  the 
Society  of  Friends,  there  is,  perhaps,  none  more  impor- 
tant and  interesting  to  contemplate,  than  the  improvement 
in  the  position  and  influence  of  woman.  Her  equality  is 
recognised  more  perfectly  than  in  any  other  religious 
community.  She  participates  in  the  concerns  of  their 
meetings  of  business,  in  the  executive  duties  of  adminis- 
tering the  discipline,  in  the  meetings  for  ministers  and 
elders,  in  the  marriage  ceremony  makes  only  the  same 
promise  as  her  husband  of  fidelity  and  love,  and  in  the 
service  of  the  ministry,  all  are  in  a  perfect  equality  before 
God.  The  result  is  mutually  beneficial :  it  is  humanizing 
to  the  men ;  it  makes  women  more  reflective  and  intelli- 


W OMAN'S  POSITION  AND  INFLUENCE.  179 


gent,  for  the  faithful  discharge  of  their  responsible  duties 
requires  that  they  should  be  adequately  informed,  calmly 
deliberative,  tolerant  of  differences  of  views,  and  capable 
of  reconciling  them  to  a  practical  result.  This  expe- 
rience gives  strength  of  character  and  mind,  but  does  not 
detract  from  the  qualities  of  the  heart,  that  make  women 
truly  to  be  loved  and  respected. 

It  is  true  all  other  religious  persuasions  afford  their 
many  bright  and  useful  examples  of  women  who  devote 
their  lives  to  works  of  charity  and  humanity,  and  as  de- 
voutly and  acceptably  worship  their  Creator ;  but  in  none 
do  they  enjoy  the  same  approach  to  an  equality  with  men. 
There  they  are  led,  taught,  and  employed,  but  do  not 
deliberate,  govern,  or  instruct,  in  the  higher  matters  of 
Church  government  and  worship.  It  is  true,  too,  that 
Quakerism  plucks  from  the  person  every  attractive  orna- 
ment of  dress,  and  mirth  and  gayety  are  transformed  to  a 
tranquil  seriousness ;  yet  may  not  the  devotee  of  fashion 
and  pleasure  take  a  useful  lesson  from  the  unadorned  and 
self-sacrificing  Quakeress  ?  The  quick  pulsations  of  plea- 
sure rapidly  exhaust  the  vital  energies,  the  spirits  sink, 
and  beauty  fades,  beyond  the  power  of  an  assumed  viva- 
city or  the  skill  of  art  to  retrieve ;  and  amidst  a  round 
of  empty  occupations  and  distrusted  enjoyments,  the  cul- 
ture of  the  mind  and  heart  is  neglected.  Then  does  the 
advantage  of  a  more  prudent  reservation  of  the  resources 
of  health  become  apparent  j  while  the  time  and  inclina- 


180        WOMAN'S  AID  AND  INFLUENCE. 

tion  preserved  for  intellectual  pursuits,  have  made  the 
mental  improvement  progressively  apparent  in  the  charms 
of  conversation,  and  in  the  radiant  expressions  of  the 
countenance.  With  well  preserved  health,  with  peace 
and  happiness  within,  crowned  with  goodness  and  intelli- 
gence, ever  advancing  by  constant  culture,  the  human 
form  and  mind  become  the  most  benign  and  attractive  in 
expression.  The  countenance  lighted  by  intelligence, 
softened  and  harmonized  by  the  influences  of  the  dove- 
like spirit  within,  becomes  proof  against  the  ravages  of 
time  and  of  perennial  beauty.  The  painter  may  exhaust 
the  delicate  skill  of  his  exquisite  art  on  a  Madonna,  or 
encircle  with  a  halo  of  glory  the  sacred  character  of 
heavenly  mien,  but  no  artistic  skill  can  successfully  rival 
the  impressive  beauty  of  "  the  human  face  divine," 
when  softened  and  illumined  by  the  inspirations  of  a 
Divine  love,  and  a  serene  intelligence  and  happiness. 

Men  who  neglect  the  aid  of  women  for  all  that  is  good 
and  useful,  are  not  true  economists  of  the  resources  pro- 
vided by  Providence.  Though  it  may  be  that  other  per- 
suasions will  not  admit  them  to  participate  in  the  affairs 
of  Church  government  and  in  the  ministry,  their  aid  and 
influence  would  be  found  of  incalculable  service  in  their 
schools,  asylums,  hospitals,  and  in  various  ways,  in  all 
that  promotes  charity,  humanity,  and  religion,  with 
which  her  feelings  and  nature  are  more  congenial.  Wo- 
men of  highest  rank  and  cultivation,  thus  occupied, 


THE  MOTHER'S  INSTRUCTION. 


181 


would  derive  the  purest  consolation  and  happiness,  feel 
life  to  be  a  higher  blessing,  and,  by  their  happy  in- 
fluence, interest  and  attract  others  to  aid  in  their  holy 
engagement ;  while  we  all  owe  it  to  those  in  humble  con- 
dition to  make  more  room  for  female  employment  in  every 
business  requiring  delicacy  and  skill  of  execution  with- 
out great  muscular  effort,  guarding  them  against  undue 
exposure,  and  from  every  occupation  and  influence  that 
would  detract  from  that  respect  and  regard  which  a  bro- 
ther would  wish  to  entertain  for  a  sister,  and  a  father  and 
a  husband  for  a  daughter  and  wife. 

Let  not  man,  in  his  pride  and  self-sufficiency,  slight  the 
aid  of  woman  as  unimportant.  She  has  ever  aided  the 
onward  progress  of  Christianity  and  civilization,  and, 
probably,  even  more  than  man,  prevents  a  relapse  from 
the  vantage-ground  attained.  But  for  her  constantly 
exerted  meliorating  influences,  man's  more  rugged  and 
ruffian  nature  would  but  become  more  hard,  harsh,  and 
selfish,  and  be  but  seldom  adorned  by  the  Christian 
graces.  It  is  the  mother  that  moulds  the  tender  mind 
of  infancy,  and  gives  it  its  most  abiding  impress  through 
life.  She  forms  the  character  of  the  future  mothers  of 
the  race,  to  repeat  and  perpetuate  the  same  lessons  of  in- 
struction, and  also  forms  the  character  of  the  men  who 
will  rule  the  national  councils  and  guide  the  destinies  of 
mankind.    Greater,  it  is  believed,  would  be  the  loss  to 

human  welfare,  if  the  mothers'  teachings  to  the  infant 

16 


182 


THE  MOTHER'S  INSTRUCTION. 


mind  were  lost,  than  if  all  the  seminaries  for  the  educa- 
tion of  men  were  closed  for  ever.  And  as  there  is  no 
influence  so  potent  for  good,  so  there  is  no  sight  on  earth 
so  beautiful  and  holy  as  that  of  the  intelligent  and  pious 
mother,  when  at  the  close  of  the  day  she  imbues  the 
minds  of  her  children  with  the  spirit  of  prayer,  and 
teaches  them  to  recall  its  events  for  self-correction — to  ask 
forgiveness  of  each  other  for  all  offences  given,  and  of  a 
Heavenly  Father  for  every  wrong  committed.  None  but 
a  mother  will  find  the  time,  or  will  condescend  to  this 
sacred  oflice ;  none  can  feel  the  same  intense  responsibility 
for  these  precious  beings,  as  she  that  bore  them  j  and  none 
like  her  enjoy  the  holy  bliss  that  kindles  in  her  bosom,  as 
she  trains  her  offspring  for  usefulness  on  earth,  in  the 
confiding  hope  that  her  labours,  Divinely  blessed,  may 
secure  the  reunion  of  her  beloved  family  in  Heaven. 
With  such  a  hope,  can  so  sacred  a  trust  ever  be  neglected 
or  delegated  by  one  true  to  the  maternal  feelings  ?  can 
any  other  than  a  mother  fulfil  the  requirings  of  this  high 
accountability,  or  finally  answer  in  her  stead  the  awful 
inquiry,  should  any  of  the  precious  flock  be  missing, 
"  What  hast  thou  done  with  the  lambs  committed  to  thy 
charge  in  the  wilderness  of  the  world  ?" 

It  were  well,  and  it  is  but  just,  that  woman  should  be 
ever  impressed  and  encouraged  by  the  thought  that  she 
is  peculiarly,  in  the  order  of  Divine  Providence,  designed 
for  the  accomplishment  of  the  highest  good  to  our  race, 


THE  MATERNAL  INFLUENCE.  183 

and  that  man  also  should  understand  that  in  the  strength 
of  a  towering  intellect,  fitted  for  physical,  scientific,  and 
political  progress,  he  is  less  potent  for  good  in  all  that 
constitutes  true  excellence  of  character,  and  gives  the 
most  assured  promise  of  everlasting  happiness. 

Are  these  reflections  seemingly  a  digression  from  the 
narrative  ?  They  but  further  illustrate  the  character  and 
enforce  the  example  of  one  of  the  best  of  mothers,  all 
of  whose  long  life  was  faithfully  devoted  to  the  fulfil- 
ment of  these  high  and  sacred  duties.  They  are  believed 
to  be  written,  and  it  is  humbly  hoped  this  volume  has 
been  written,  in  the  spirit  of  her  last  and  sacredly 
regarded  injunction,  "  Be  obedient  unto  the  law  written 
in  thy  heart,  and  endeavour  to  draw  others  unto  it  I"  It 
is  in  this  faith  that  obstacles  have  been  levelled  in  pros- 
pect, and  clouds  have  melted  into  the  transparency  of 
heaven.  And,  again,  I  have  been  encouraged  by  the 
advice  of  a  venerated  father,  to  those  disposed  to  hang 
back  and  thereby  fail  to  do  what  good  they  might,  "  If 
we  wait  to  be  perfect  before  we  attempt  to  do  good,  there 
are  few  that  can  do  much  good." 

It  is  of  course  that  the  question  has  often  recurred, 
and  recurs  with  a  more  serious  impressiveness  in  drawing 
the  narrative  to  a  close — Has  it  been  written  with  a  suf- 
ficient object,  and  with  motives  wholly  pure  ?  The  best 
response  afforded  to  an  inward  scrutiny  and  prayerful 
feeling  has  been  affirmatively  given.    For  numerous  rela- 


184  SUFFICIENCY  OF  MOTIVE. 

tives  and  friends  has  the  Memoir  been  written,  and  their 
appreciation  and  love  for  its  objects  will  assuredly  make 
the  work  acceptable  to  them;  and  should  it  fall  into 
other  hands,  let  these  reflect  and  duly  allow  for  the  pur- 
pose of  its  composition.  The  motives  that  actuated  in 
its  execution,  are  believed  in  all  instances  to  have  been 
pure,  and  with  an  exalted  aim ;  at  all  events,  to  have 
proceeded  from  a  sense  of  duty,  and  a  desire  for  truth 
and  usefulness.  Having  this  assurance,  whatever  censure 
may  follow,  the  sacrifice  will  be  felt  to  be  slight,  indeed, 
when  compared  with  that  of  the  natural  feelings  of  a  be- 
loved mother,  when  yielding  to  the  requisitions  authori- 
tatively made  upon  her. 

Upon  the  consideration  of  the  highest  usefulness  of 
example,  can  any  error  in  this  step  have  been  committed  ? 
The  history  of  the  lives  commemorated  has  appeared  to 
be  instructive  in  the  best  duties  of  the  citizen,  and  the 
most  sacred  of  the  Christian  j  and  if  without  the  adven- 
ture and  the  worldly  fame  that  arrest  the  attention  and 
dazzle  the  fancy,  it  will  shed  a  mild  and  beneficent  light, 
usefully  to  guide  the  humble,  the  industrious,  and  the 
devoted,  who  would  serve  their  fellow-beings  and  walk 
acceptably  in  the  sight  of  their  Maker.  It  will  excite  no 
eccentric  ambition  to  leave  the  quiet  and  peaceful  walks 
of  private  life,  and,  affording  examples  within  the  reach 
of  imitation  by  all,  will  become  the  more  extensively  use- 
ful.   Mankind,  as  they  become  more  enlightened  and 


HIGHEST  CULTURE.  185 

humanized,  sicken  at  the  shedding  of  human  blood,  and 
relish  less  the  details  of  the  horrors  of  war.  The  heroes 
of  humanity,  and  the  victories  of  peace,  become  more 
attractive  and  admired.  By  the  test  that  goodness  is  to 
be  preferred  to  greatness,  the  good  most  deserve  to  be 
held  in  remembrance,  and  upheld  as  examples.  Since 
"  he  that  is  slow  to  anger,  is  better  than  the  mighty,  and 
he  that  ruleth  his  spirit,  than  he  that  taketh  a  city,"  how 
much  better  then  those  who  have  not  only  all  their  lives 
submitted  to  the  restraining  power  of  religion,  but  have 
by  active  service  devoted  those  lives  to  the  good  of  their 
fellow-beings ! 

Those  who  shall  have  attentively  followed  the  writer 
through  this  narrative,  cannot  have  failed  to  make  the 
reflection  that  from  a  point  of  small  beginning,  the  sub- 
jects of  this  Memoir  underwent  a  most  useful  mental 
culture  and  religious  improvement.  This  growth  is  easily 
explained  :  The)-  were  faithful  to  the  little  furnished,  and 
became  rulers  over  more.  Their  school  instruction  con- 
sisted of  the  rudiments  of  an  English  education,  imper- 
fectly obtained  in  country  schools,,  at  the  period  of  the 
revolution.  But  their  minds  were  early  brought  under 
an  exercise  of  feeling  that  necessarily  induced  a  further 
and  higher  culture.  Religion  comes  with  its  strongest 
power  upon  those  minds  who  believe  their  impressions  to 
be  the  inspeaking  word  of  the  Almighty  to  His  dependent 

children.   Under  its  influence  a  scrutiny  commences  upon 

16* 


186  HIGHEST  CULTURE. 

the  conduct,  affections,  and  thoughts,  more  rigid  and 
unsparing  than  the  Socratic  cross-questioning  of  feelings 
and  motives ;  and  to  prove  faithful  to  a  trust  of  the  most 
sacred  obligation,  the  duty  of  self-watchfulness,  and  of  a 
conduct  conformed  to  the  manifestations  received,  becomes 
incessant  and  imperative.  Under  this  high  sanction,  they 
felt  themselves  charged  to  seek  their  souls'  salvation,  and 
commissioned  to  turn  the  minds  of  others  to  the  only  true 
source  of  their  redemption.  Fidelity  to  this  trust  was 
more  to  them  than  life  or  death.  It  was  a  requisition  of 
a  like  resistless  obligation  to  that  which  caused  their  reli- 
gious ancestors  to  endure  persecutions  unto  imprisonment 
and  death  ;  and  that  it  was  which  required  a  modest, 
delicate,  and  retiring  woman  to  overcome  her  great 
natural  reluctance,  and  to  stand  up  before  the  assemblies 
of  the  people,  and  to  travel  abroad  to  preach  the  Gospel. 
No  other  incentive  could  be  so  strong  upon  the  human 
mind,  to  seek  and  to  hold  fast  all  that  was  good  for  in- 
struction and  spiritual  profit,  and  this  higher  cultivation 
of  the  mind,  and  process  of  purifying  the  human  affec- 
tions, necessarily  increased  the  intelligence,  and  gave 
elevation  to  the  thoughts  of  those  undergoing  this  autho- 
ritative teaching.  The  author  of  Elia  tells  his  readers — 
lovers  of  literature — to  "  Get  the  writings  of  John  Wool- 
man  by  heart ;  and  love  the  early  Quakers."  The  sub- 
jects of  this  Memoir  read  for  something  more  than  the 
indulgence  of  a  literary  taste.    They  read  to  establish 


HIGHEST  CULTURE. 


187 


their  faith — to  strengthen  their  resolution  in  a  devoted 
service — to  "  be  perfect  and  thoroughly  furnished  unto 
good  works."  They  read  with  deepest  sympathy  and  un- 
doubting  faith,  the  Holy  Scriptures,  the  writings  and  his- 
tories of  early  Friends,  many  of  them  good  scholars  j  and 
they  heard  the  preaching  and  conversations  of  contempo- 
raries, at  a  period  when  many  eminent  men  and  women 
adorned  the  ranks  of  their  society7.  It  was  a  training  to 
enlarge  the  mind  and  improve  the  heart;  to  form  serious, 
reflective,  and  earnest  character,  and  to  blend  in  it  the 
firmest  resolution,  with  the  mildest  disposition,  and  a 
sympathy  for  others'  woe.  The  command  was  ever  be- 
fore them,  "  Be  ye  perfect,  even  as  your  Father  which  is 
in  Heaven  is  perfect,"  and  ever  watchfully  striving  for 
purification  and  refinement,  they  attained  to  a  higher 
excellence  than  practicable  under  any  other  teaching. 
They  lived  in  the  beauty  of  holiness,  and  the  brightness 
of  the  world  they  beheld  before  them  illumined  that  be- 
low, and  made  their  character  here  reflective  of  the  stain- 
less purity  of  the  life  to  come. 

The  review  of  these  pages  happily  presents  nothing  of  a 
controversial  character;  and  nothing  of  the  kind,  as  con- 
nected with  the  characters  commemorated,  has  been  sup- 
pressed. On  the  sure  foundation  they  started  in  life,  these 
faithful  Friends  continued  unto  the  end.  It  was  that  on 
which  the  Society  of  Friends  rose  distinctively  in  the  begin- 
ning, whose  doctrine  and  testimonies  the  world  then  re- 


188  HIGHEST  CULTURE. 

sented,  but  become  more  enlightened,  has  been  more  will- 
ing to  acknowledge  to  be  generally  truthful  and  righteous. 
The  lives  here  portrayed,  abiding  in  the  love  that  distin- 
guished their  religious  ancestry,  and  in  the  light  and  life  of 
the  Gospel,  as  made  manifest  by  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and 
the  revealings  of  Divine  truth  upon  the  souls  of  men, 
were  in  all  of  life  consistent  exponents  of  the  true  Qua- 
ker character.  With  them  the  precious  seed  fell  neither 
upon  stony  ground,  nor  was  it  choked  by  thorns.  The 
first  public  appearance  of  one,  was  with  the  declaration, 
that  "  God  is  a  spirit,  and  they  that  worship  Him  aright 
must  worship  Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  for  it  is  such 
He  seeketh  to  worship  Him,"  and  among  the  last,  "  To 
know  Thee,  the  only  True  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom 
Thou  hast  sent,  this  is  life  eternal j"  and  in  the  lives  of 
both,  all  was  consistent  with  these  declarations.  Their 
religion  was  a  religion  in  its  highest  power — a  vital  prin- 
ciple, inwardly  active,  and  productive  of  a  living  faith 
and  love,  worship  and  works,  prayer  and  praise  j  and  in 
the  same  faith  and  love  they  lived,  so  they  died,  in  the 
confident  hope  of  a  happy  and  glorious  immortality. 

In  gathering  these  scattered  fragments,  the  writer  has 
derived  instruction  which  he  sincerely  hopes  may  be  ex- 
perienced by  others.  He  has  felt  the  task  to  be  a  small 
reparation  for  the  neglect  of  former  opportunities,  when 
the  best  of  parents  spoke  in  living  tones,  in  the  faith  that 
even  neglected  counsels  might  return  as  bread  cast  upon 


CONCLUSION. 


189 


the  waters,  after  many  days.  So  have  they  been  felt  to 
return  to  him  in  this  labour  of  love  and  gratitude,  and  so 
may  they  return  as  the  bread  of  life  to  others,  and  float 
down  the  stream  of  time  to  successive  generations  of  de- 
scendants. In  meditating  upon  their  sweet  and  peaceful 
memory,  his  sorrow  for  then  loss  has  been  soothed  by 
their  precious  words  of  hope,  and  his  aspirations  encou- 
raged by  their  beneficent  example.  In  these  renewed 
associations  and  tender  recollections,  he  has  felt  that 
"  there  is  a  joy  in  grief,  when  peace  dwells  in  the  breast 
of  the  sad" — a  "  pleasant  joy  of  grief,  like  the  shower 
of  spring,  when  it  softens  t'he  branch  of  the  oak,  and 
the  young  leaf  rears  its  head  j"  and  his  earnest  prayer  is, 
that  their  words  and  example  may  pass  on,  alike  refresh- 
ingly, to  remoter  generations,  nourishing  into  spiritual 
life  and  the  beauty  of  holiness,  and  their  course  be  made 
freshly  visible  by  beneficent  effects,  "  as  willows  by  the 
watercourses." 

And  I  thank  Thee,  my  Heavenly  Father,  that  Thou 
hast  permitted  me  to  accomplish  this  filial  duty ;  and 
hast  caused  the  touch  of  the  dry  and  mouldering  relics 
of  thy  departed  servants  to  impart  a  renovated  life.  In 
the  performance  of  the  service,  Thou  hast  given  increase 
of  strength,  shed  upon  the  wakeful  hours  of  night  an 
unwonted  light,  and  mingled  in  the  busy  day  its  purest 
joy.  Thou  hast  awakened  long  slumbering  emotions  of 
the  heart,  whispered  to  the  ear  the  sweet  tones  familiar 


190 


CONCLUSION. 


to  youthful  days,  as  in  distant  echoes  from  my  native 
hills,  and  led  me  again  over  their  green  pastures  as  one 
of  the  flock  that  knoweth  the  voice  of  the  True  Shepherd ; 
and  again  have  I  listened  to  the  pathetic  tones  of  a  devo- 
ted Mother's  Gospel  ministry,  and  a  dedicated  Father's 
counsels  of  wisdom.  May  all  their  descendants,  in  the 
retrospection  now  afforded,  aided  by  Thy  Holy  Spirit, 
enjoy  the  like  happy  experience.  May  the  sweet  memo- 
ries of  the  distant  past,  thus  influenced,  cause  again  and 
often  to  flow  in  their  breasts  the  pure  fountain  of  living 
waters,  leaving  none  to  thirst  again  ;  and  with  the  bap- 
tism of  joyous  tears  may  Thy  heavenly  spirit  approv- 
ingly descend  upon  them.  Take  from  every  error  here 
committed  the  power  to  harm  ;  cure  every  wound  here 
inflicted  by  the  instillations  of  Thy  healing  balm ;  and 
commission  these  leaves  to  take  their  flight  only  for  good. 
May  these  gathered  thoughts,  as  winged  seeds  borne  upon 
the  breeze,  fall  upon  goodly  soil,  and,  nourished  by  Hea- 
venly dews,  spring  into  life,  in  their  blossom  yielding  a 
grateful  fragrance  unto  Thee,  and  in  their  fruit  righteous- 
ness and  eternal  life. 

Eli  K.  Price. 


INDEX. 


Agriculture,  19,  20,  79,  80. 
Amicable  compact,  123. 
Apologetic,  168. 
"Appeal,"  129. 
Appointments,  119. 
Anniversary,  145. 
Askbridge,  Geo.,  8. 
Attacks  on  Friends,  169. 
Birtk,  6. 
Burial,  161. 
Catkrall,  Hannak,  14. 
Character,  162. 
Coal  Mine,  141. 
Communism,  112. 
Consciousness,  92. 
Cook,  C,  26. 
Co-operative  labour,  116. 
Crops,  rotation  of,  19. 
Courtesy,  67. 
Cox,  S.  H.,  170. 
Darby,  Dk.,  22. 
Davy,  Sir  H.,  108. 
Disinterested,  176. 
Deviation,  10. 
Delaware,  37. 

Division  of  Friends,  119,  132. 

Doctrines,  130. 

Disownments,  125. 

Divine  Light,  88. 

Dress,  65. 

Education,  35,  86. 

Elders,  40. 


Emlen,  Samuel,  17. 
Experience,  92,  95. 
Expression  of  sympatky,  1 
Faith,  130. 
Families,  117. 
Farming,  18. 
First  principles,  128. 
Forgiveness,  72. 
Fox,  Geo.,  103,  135. 
Free  Agency,  91,  115,  117. 
Fry,  Elizabetk,  75,  173. 
Fugitive  Slaves,  49. 
Garrigues,  Ed.,  29. 
Gospel  Love,  126. 
Grellet,  Stepken,  30. 
Gypsum,  21. 
Hall,  Jokn,  33. 
Higkest  culture,  183. 
Home  industry,  78. 
Home  reminiscences,  46. 
HoUingswortk,  S.,  26. 
Jackson,  Andrew,  137. 
Jackson,  William,  134. 
Indians,  75,  136. 
Insane,  treatment  of,  175. 
Kersey,  Jesse,  68. 
Kirk,  William,  7. 
Last  journey,  139. 
Last  illness,  146,  158. 
Learning,  102,  106. 
Letters,  11,  65,  112,  151. 
Lewis,  Enock,  170. 


192 


INDEX. 


Light  within,  89,  111,  129. 
Lindley,  Jacob,  10. 
Litigation,  122. 
Locke,  John,  102. 
Manners,  67. 
Marriage,  18. 
Martineau,  PL,  100. 
Merinoes,  78. 
Ministers,  40. 
Ministry,  21,  82,  166. 
Miner,  Charles,  141,  151. 
Mother's  instruction,  181. 
Mott,  Rd.,  42. 
Motive,  sufficiency  of,  182. 
Naylor,  James,  71. 
New  Jersey,  43. 
New  York,  143. 
Newlin,  Sarah,  37,  40. 
Obedience,  91. 
Obituary,  152. 
Ohio,  54,  68. 
Owen,  R.,  112. 
Parentage,  6. 

Peace  principles,  48,  73,  176. 
Perfection  not  assumed,  177. 
Persecution,  74. 
Peters,  Judge,  19. 
Pioneers,  7. 
Plainness,  65. 
Post-Dog,  9. 
Price,  Hannah,  13. 
Price,  Isaac,  29. 
Profession,  66,  85. 
"Quakerism,"  170. 
Religious  journeys,  26,  37,  43, 
54,  59. 

THE 


Religion  of  the  heart,  109. 
Reform,  spirit  of,  48. 
Retrospection,  127. 
Rush,  Dr.,  108. 
Separation,  119,  132. 
Sheep,  78. 
Simpson,  John,  25. 
Slavery,  51,  173. 
Smith,  Samuel,  41. 
Social  structure,  116. 
Social  gatherings,  144. 
Soldiery,  77. 
Surviving  parent,  156. 
Sympathy,  151. 
Talbot,  Sarah,  43,  59. 
Temperance,  48. 
Thorn  hedges,  46. 
Trusts,  122. 
Unity,  lost,  121. 
Vindication,  169. 
Virginia  thorn,  46. 
Virginia,  26,  58,  59,  61. 
Visitations,  10,  15. 
Want,  8. 
War,  78. 
Warning,  70. 
Weeding,  47. 
West-Town,  35. 
Witchel,  Mary,  54. 
Woman's  preaching,  24. 
Woman's  influence,  178. 
Woolman,  John,  52. 
Yarnall,  Eli,  41. 
Yellow  fever,  29. 
Young,  R.,  22. 

END. 


